NFL bans gun seller’s gun-free ad from Super Bowl: Watch, weigh in

A gun ad that was specifically designed to fit the rules that would allow it to air during Super Bowl XLVIII in February is being rejected by the NFL — and some people are crying foul.

No, it’s not one of those video game ads full of guns and gunfire that you might’ve seen repeatedly on any given Sunday, or Monday, or Thursday night. And yes, we’re talking about deciding what’s appropriate for the audience of the biggest football game of the year, an event in which big men slam into each other violently and sometimes hurt each other badly in pursuit of a national title and some shiny rings.

But never mind all that.

The ad in contention — which shows a man, home from active military service, taking responsibility for protecting his family — is actually for a place that sells guns, Daniel Defense. It doesn’t show a gun, save for a silhouetted rifle in the logo at the end, an image the company was willing to swap out for an American flag or the words “Shall Not Be Infringed,” if that made the deal happen.

No dice, we learn courtesy of Guns & Ammo.

Here’s the NFL’s gun rule, via G&A: “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.”

The company’s chief exec, Marty Daniel, told “Fox & Friends” that they started from that rule and developed a commercial they thought would hit all the marks. He said Daniel Defense does sell a number of items besides guns -- outdoor gear and the like.

Still, Elisabeth Hasselbeck had to ask, wasn’t it just as good to have the ad talked about in the lead-up to the big game, even if the spot didn’t air? It wasn’t bad, Daniel said, but the $100,000 ad was created for the Super Bowl, and the point was to have it air there.
“We believe the average, that the majority of the Super Bowl fans have the same values that we have at Daniel Defense,” Daniel said on the Fox show.

“That is, we believe in protecting our families, we believe in our 2nd Amendment, which is our right to protect ourselves. We believe in the 1st Amendment, which is really the issue here. We’re trying to exercise our 1st Amendment rights to give our opinion on the 2nd Amendment and not being allowed to do so.”

Watch the ad, above, and tell us what you think in comments. Is the NFL in the wrong here, or did the league do the right thing?

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