The NFL has rejected a commercial submitted by firearm manufacturer Daniel Defense for the 2014 Super Bowl.
Daniel Defense manufactures rifles on the AR-15 platform, but the commercial did not even mention Daniel Defense products. Instead, Guns & Ammo says the commercial “focused on themes of personal protection and fundamental rights.”
The Super Bowl will air on FOX, and FOX says they could not accept the commercial “due to the rules of the NFL itself” regarding firearm-related businesses.
The NFL’s prohibited advertising categories include, but are not limited to, “contraceptives,” “fireworks,” “distilled spirits and flavored malt beverages,” “tobacco,” and “firearms, ammunition, or other weapons.”
As Guns & Ammo noted, 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.
Guns & Ammo noted that “according to these guidelines, Daniel Defense’s Super Bowl commercial does not violate NFL policy for two reasons”:
Daniel Defense has a brick-and-mortar store, where they sell products other than firearms such as apparel.
The commercial itself does not mention firearms, ammunition or weaponry.
Although the Daniel Defense commercial did not mention firearms, it did show the Daniel Defense logo at the end–and that logo is of a DDM4 rifle. Upon being rejected, Daniel Defense offered to leave their own logo out of their commercial or even replace it with an American flag. But the NFL refused to budge.
Guns & Ammo also noted that “the NFL’s decision to deny the ad comes after Daniel Defense ran a commercial in local Georgia markets during the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI on NBC, with no objection from the NFL. That particular commercial pictured the manufacture of firearms and concluded with a clip of Larry Vickers shooting a rifle.”
The ad in question can be seen below:
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins
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