The National Football League is stifling a pro-Second Amendment company by forbidding it from airing a commercial during the Super Bowl, though the ad shows not a single gun.
Daniel Defense, which sells apparel in addition to firearms and ammunition, submitted a commercial to FOX to be aired during 2014’s Super Bowl XLVIII. But, according to Guns and Ammo, the network squashed the ad, saying it violated the NFL’s rules for paid advertisements.
“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,” a statement FOX sent to Daniel Defense said.
Several categories are addressed in the NFL’s Advertising Policy for the 2013 season, including guidelines for commercials featuring alcohol, gambling, prescription drugs and firearms. According to the firearms portion of the NFL’s rules, “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.”
However, Daniel Defense’s commercial does not violate the NFL’s policy. The store sells other products beyond firearms and ammunition, as permitted under the League’s advertising guidelines, and the commercial fails to mention firearms, ammo or other weapons.
Instead, the ad centers around a message of personal protection and safety. It does feature the shadow of Daniel Defense’s popular DDM4 rifle at the very end with the words “Defending your nation. Defending your home,” displayed across the bottom of the screen.
But after the NFL denied the original ad, the company offered to replace the DMM4 with an image of the American flag and the words “Shall not be infringed.”
The NFL still refused to air the commercial.
According to Guns and Ammo, Daniel Defense previously ran a commercial during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. The ad, which was featured in local Georgia markets on NBC, showed the manufacture of firearms and ended with Larry Vickers shooting a rifle.
That ad was met with no objection from the NFL.
The League did not return Red Alert’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Check out Daniel Defense’s ad below.
