The advertisement starts as any back-to-school ad would. Kids showing off the perfect backpack they got from their parents or a snazzy new pair of headphones.
But it takes a chilling turn when the kids are using their everyday items to save themselves while in a crisis.
"These scissors really come in handy in our class," a young girl says while holding them up in defence, hiding.
Another uses their new pair of socks to dab at a bloody wound on their friend.
A young girl finally got a new phone so she could stay in contact with her mother... as she hides in the bathroom to text her she loves her.
It ends saying "school shootings are preventable if you know the signs".
"We don't want people to turn away from it, so pretending it doesn't exist is not helping to solve it," said Nicole Hockley about the advertisement, whose six-year-old son Dylan was killed at Sandy Hook.
"At the end, the girl with the phone gets me every time," she told NBC.
As of today - 19 September - there have been 302 mass shootings in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
If that number continues to rise, 2019 will be the first year since 2016 that has an average of more than one mass shooting per day.
That is almost more heartbreaking than the video.
President Donald Trump's response to two major mass shootings in August promised that "serious discussions" were happening to introduce "meaningful" background checks on people who buy guns.
The unfortunate trend is fast becoming the new normal for students, parents and staff of schools, but co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, Mark Barden refuses to let that be the reality.
"This is what our kids are having to think about now, and they shouldn't be. There is nothing normal about kids being shot, being hunted in their school."
Need help? Call Lifeline on 131 114, visit www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/get-help-home, or call beyondblue on 1300 224 636.
If you would like to talk to someone about mental health, you can call the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Headspace on 1800 650 890.
If you or someone have something to report, contact Crime Stoppers, call 1800 333 00.
If you are in immediate danger, call 000
