Are you ready for some controversy? That’s the kind of clever play on words that the headline makers are churning out now that the (presumably) first potential Super Bowl XLVIII ad has been banned by the NFL, and boy is this one going to get the Yahoo! commenters in an uproar. According to Guns & Ammo, gun maker Daniel Defense submitted its ad to Fox to run during this season’s Big Game, and the NFL came back with a hearty, “Thanks but no thanks,” because the ad allegedly violates the league’s strict rules on Super Bowl advertising.
According to a statement from FOX to Daniel Defense, “Unfortunately, we cannot accept your commercial in football/Super Bowl spots due to the rules the NFL itself has set into place for your company’s category.”
The NFL’s Advertising Policy addresses several Prohibited Advertising Categories, including guidelines for ads featuring alcohol, video games, movies, prescription drugs, and, of course, firearms.
The firearms portion of the NFL’s Prohibited Advertising Categories states:
“5. Firearms, ammunition or other weapons are prohibited; however, stores that sell firearms and ammunitions (e.g., outdoor stores and camping stores) will be permitted, provided they sell other products and the ads do not mention firearms, ammunition or other weapons.” (Via Guns & Ammo)
Now, whether or not Daniel Defense actually violates this rule is where the debate will heat up, because Daniel does have an actual store that sells apparel and the commercial doesn’t ever technically mention guns until a graphic of Daniel’s DDM4 rifle shows up at the end. With that last part in mind, G&A reports, Daniel’s reps even told the NFL they’d remove that graphic and replace it with something else, but the NFL still said, “Tough luck, hombres.”
In the end, this really isn’t any different from the times that porn companies and AshleyMadison.com have been rejected, because Daniel Defense not only gets to save the $4 million that a 30-second ad costs this year, but the company gets all the free advertising it could ever hope for. And you can bet that people are going to be arguing about this commercial all the way up to the Super Bowl itself.
