Helping Conservatives Speak Out Against the Death Penalty:  A Values-Based Approach 

As awareness of the need for criminal justice reform grows, the movement to end the death penalty is drawing strength from conservatives.  

Many are questioning the enormous costs of death row and the fact that innocent people are convicted and killed. Within the conservative mix, libertarians have a special role to play, as the evils of government aggression are central to libertarian principles. A small, politically savvy organization, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, is out to persuade conservatives of all ages and stripes to take an active role in calling on their legislators to end executions forever. They teamed with the reform organization Equal Justice USA, finding strength in their common interest to abolish the death penalty. 

Underground was invited to create a campaign to help propel new activism in two key states: Ohio and Wyoming. We featured distinctive portraits of everyday conservatives with copy that underscores the death penalty’s failure to deter crime and asks viewers to consider the moral questions presented by exonerations.  

 The ads also serve as a means to draw viewers into a Views & Values Survey, an ingenious addition to the campaign created in collaboration with our partner, Adriana Dakin of ImaginePod. With a modest ad spend, the ads and survey together resulted in the doubling of Conservatives Concerned email lists in just 30 days.

 Conservatives Concerned has developed an avid social media following anchored in part by the crisp, no-nonsense tone of leader Hannah Cox. The new campaign aligns nicely with the organization’s brand and Cox’s incitement that in order to be a principled conservative, one must consider facts, think clearly and act consistently.

Underground finds this kind of collaborative effort particularly satisfying, especially one where common interests rise above partisan rancor.