Flannel, muddy girl camo and man cards. See the ads used to sell the AR-15.

[AndyS]

Last edited Sun Oct 8, 2023, 06:23 PM - Edit history (1)

A very interesting chronological look at ads for the AR-15. The first one was in 1966 and it was marketed (unsuccessfully) as a hunting rifle. 1966 was before the NSSF pulled off it's coup of the old NRA which was dedicated to gun safety and marksmanship.

From 1977 on all the ads centered on military and police as a selling point of the rifle. Curious how the gun culture is insistent that it isn't a military weapon when the gun industry has advertised it as such for 25 years!

It's well worth the read and an education on how the gun industry literally brain washed a generation of gun buyers.

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https://wapo.st/46lNKjs

The Colt AR-15 looked more like a laser blaster than dad’s trusty rifle when it hit the market in 1964.

It was made from aluminum and plastic, not the heavier metals and wood used in traditional firearms. Its cartridges were tiny compared with typical hunting ammunition. And it was all black — a dour monochrome far from the rich walnut accentuating many guns at the time. In short, the AR-15 presented a litany of challenges for those tasked with trying to sell it.

Many gun enthusiasts and industry executives were initially skeptical that an offshoot of a weapon originally designed for combat could sell in a marketplace focused on extolling the virtues of rifles for hunting and handguns for self-defense.

Through it all, the gun also became a point of emphasis for gun companies that turned to tactical weapons as an emerging and lucrative market.*

* The AR-15 market is so competitive that there is very little profit in selling the gun alone, hence the need to sell cheap tactical add-ons often with keystone markup to make up the shortfall.