Everyone knows that teddy bears aren’t as dangerous as firearms. But these classic toys have to satisfy a wide range of safety standards before they make their way into a store, much less a child’s hands. Guns, on the other hand, face few such requirements.

That’s the premise behind a new ad created by FCB Chicago for the nonprofit Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

Meet “Teddy Gun.” He’s not as pure as he might seem on first glance.

So why is the act of producing a simple teddy bear so much more complicated than that of making a deadly weapon?

“The Teddy Gun is a profound yet tragically ironic symbol of the absence of government regulations of one of the most dangerous consumer products,” said council executive director Colleen Daley in a statement. “Our goal with Teddy Gun is to raise awareness and encourage elected officials to support measures that can and will save lives.”

The point, then, is that Teddy Gun wouldn’t have to meet so many requirements if his primary function were that of a weapon rather than a toy. And while “key functional elements have intentionally been omitted” to ensure that Teddy will never fire any bullets, the contrast remains striking.

Agency and client have worked together before on projects like 2015’s “The Unforgotten,” which looked to further humanize the victims of gun violence by re-purposing some of the clothes they wore when they were shot.

While new gun control legislation is unlikely to become law in the current American political climate, this potentially lethal teddy bear does serve as a powerful symbol of the double standard applied to firearms.

CREDITS

Agency: FCB Chicago

Liz Taylor: Chief Creative Officer

Max Geraldo: SVP, Executive Creative Director

Bruno Mazzotti: Creative Director

Dean Paradise: Creative Director

Gustavo Dorietto: Creative Director

John Bleeden: SVP, Executive Creative Producer

Lindsay Tyler: Executive Integrated Producer

Ben Flaherty: SVP, Creative Director

Roman Mendez: Director, Motion Design

Ky Anderson: Account Supervisor

Katie Roach: Executive Producer

Steve Immer: Senior Editor

Michael Chesta: Sr. Manager Digital Development

John Skibicki: Lead Developer

Morgan Bates: Sr. Developer

Erik Christianson: Tech Lead

Derek Tucker: Business Analyst

Mamo Arima: Sr. Project Manager

Greg Olsen: Sr. Retoucher

Scott Wulf: Sr. Retoucher

Mike Norgard: Social Manager

Eduardo Borges: 3D Artist, Lauré Studio

Hero Solutions: Fabricator

Alexis Valenti: VP, Current Lifestyle Marketing and Public Relations

Virginia Devlin: President, Current Lifestyle Marketing and Public Relations

Colleen Daley: Executive Director, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence