Guns, As Seen On TV: Now Repeating Rifles Have Their Very Own Commercial

Over the years, advertisers have tried to sell us stuff we didn’t necessarily want or need by bombarding us with unexpected, unforgettable TV images. Cartoon bears who won’t poo in the woods unless they use the right toilet paper. Beautiful blondes in bikinis who will drink any kind of beer as long as it is wet. Talking babies who won’t stop worrying about their finances. Needless to say, visuals like these were specifically designed by advertisers to make us stop and take notice.

As long as the ads grabbed our attention, they could easily hook  us into buying their advertised goods or services. That was their game, anyway -- and it’s still a pretty obvious, manipulative one at that.

After the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School, though, do guns really need to be advertised on TV? Somebody must think so because this unbelievably outrageous ad keeps airing wherever and whenever I look.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a commercial that makes you stare in amazed disbelief. You literally cannot believe what you’ve just seen on your TV. It’s so outrageous that you stay tuned, hoping it will air again.
That way, you can see with your own eyes that you didn’t imagine it.


Oddly enough, it doesn’t even seem like they’re advertising guns. But they are. They’re trying to sell you rifles -- that’s American-made repeating rifles, citizen. You won’t realize that, however, until this TV ad finally ends.

In case you missed it, here’s a play-by-play description.

As the spot airs, you hear Johnny Cash crooning in the background and see Everyman rummaging through his mid-century modern rambler. This guy’s on the hunt for something -- anything -- in his house that’s made in America. But he can’t find anything. No MADE IN USA labels anywhere.


After this typical, All-American Guy discovers that most of his possessions were made in China, Malaysia, or Guatemala, he starts unloading. He starts emptying the contents of his house. He hauls all the stuff not made in his native country outside, then leaves it on his front lawn.

Then he looks at his wife (or maybe she’s really his young- looking mom?) who’s been quietly sitting in the living room all this time. Close-up of a nondescript, fair face in glasses comes into view. No heavy lifting is shown, but she ends up on his front lawn, too. My guess is that the woman in his life was supposed to be a Latina or some other exotic, illegal immigrant. But wiser heads prevailed and convinced the client that such casting would be racist and offensive. So the woman in this spot became a tasteless, harmless metaphor of non-citizenship -- a Canadian. A complacent Canadian who remained mute when she got banished outside with the rest of his non-American possessions.

Only after his living room is emptied does he finally find the real thing: a rifle, one that had been openly displayed all along, over his fireplace. And it’s proudly made in America!

At this point, I expected Johnny to start singing our national anthem while Everyman stood at attention and saluted. What I, along with other viewers, got instead was more info about this repeating rifle...so we all could proudly buy something that was made in America!

I’m not even going to mention the manufacturer’s name or toll-free number here because I refuse to dignify this kind of marketing strategy.

It’s unconscionable that this corporation would resort to such blatant emotional manipulation to sell a product that’s specifically designed to kill living things. Bad enough to equate a weapon with distorted down-home values. But to sell it by manipulating it as a symbol of national pride and patriotism? Shame on you, big business, for trying to sell your guns the way others have tried to sell cars, life insurance, and Hershey Bars.

( SPOILER ALERT: Unless you’re Mr. Magoo trying to wipe out a killer wolf pack, you’re not going to need a repeating rifle, anyway.)

On the other hand, I do have to commend this pro-NRA gunmaker and its advertiser for being so honest. Thanks, modern-day Mad Men for reminding us that this big “gun debate” is just a beard for selling more stuff. Thanks, homegrown gun creator, for finally coming clean about your real intentions with gun control legislation. Your commercial has finally given America’s TV viewers the truth about guns and the manufacturers who love them.

It’s not about our “gun rights.” It’s all about selling your goods in the marketplace and making money, money, money. It’s all about mega-profits for you, the gun manufacturers. All this resistance to banning assault rifles, limiting rounds of ammo, and instigating stricter background checks has to do with your profit margin, not our personal freedom.

It’s not about allowing us to shoot big bucks. It’s all about allowing YOU to make big bucks.

It’s not about the Constitution or the Second Amendment or our individual rights. It’s all about you, gun manufacturers. It’s all for you, so you can keep making more and more money.

To the man with a hammer, every problem is a nail. To the gun manufacturers, every gun is a solution to the problem you have created. Your MO is to create enemies so we’ll all be scared into believing we’ll need your guns to protect ourselves.

But as far as I can see, the only real enemies here are you, the gunmaking billionaires, who want to keep the fear and hate alive so we all will keep buying weapons that we didn’t need in the first place.