“Goofies Got Guns” Leverages Chicago Teen Humor and Slang to Share a Serious Message about the Risks of Having a Gun
CHICAGO — Project Unloaded, the only gun violence prevention nonprofit actively countering gun culture online through youth-driven social media campaigns, is launching Goofies Got Guns, a new campaign designed to engage teens with facts challenging the myth that firearms provide safety. Created by Chicago teenagers in partnership with the creative team at Havas Chicago, the campaign uses humor, meme culture, and local slang to reach young people in neighborhoods impacted by gun violence.
“In Chicago, being called a ‘goofy’ is pretty embarrassing,” said Laia McClain, a high school junior and Project Unloaded Youth Council member featured in the campaign. “Goofies are gullible. If you’re a goofy, it’s easy to fall for the myth that a gun will protect you, despite all the facts showing that guns make us less safe. Through this campaign, we’re sharing the facts – and hopefully making people laugh along the way.”
Developed during Project Unloaded’s summer 2025 Social Media for Safer Communities program, the campaign features members of the organization’s Youth Council and local students who’ve participated in Project Unloaded’s community programs hosted in partnership with Breakthrough and After School Matters. The campaign will launch first on Snapchat, reaching more than 160,000 13-to-17-year-olds in the Chicago area.
“Teens know what influences other teens,” said Nina Vinik, founder and president of Project Unloaded. “Our job is to empower them with the facts about why guns make them less safe and challenge them to use their own creativity and cultural influence to spread that message to their peers. The power of Goofies Got Guns is what happens when we trust teens to do the work.”
Campaign content drives young people to GoofiesGotGuns.org, where teens can learn the facts about gun risks. Gen Z content creators are joining the campaign too, with more than a dozen creators working in partnership with the campaign to reach their significant base of followers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with the Goofies Got Guns message. Their goal: To skip the heated debate that often surrounds an issue like guns and engage their audiences through relatable, funny content.
“By combining their authentic social media know-how with professional advertising strategy, the teens have created a campaign that is as irreverent as it is educational – and one built to break through a fast-moving social media feed,” said Kat Ott, president of Havas Chicago. “We were delighted to work with creative teens in our city and can’t wait to see the impact they will have on their peers.”
Since 2022, Project Unloaded’s peer-led campaigns have reached more than 10 million young people, including more than a quarter of 13-17-year-olds nationwide.
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