The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that the National Rifle Association is advertising in favor of Republican Rep. Tom Cotton on a social networking app for gay men.
Sorry, Beast, it’s a hoax.
The NRA has denied placing the ad and so has the Cotton campaign. A consulting firm that places advertising on behalf of the NRA has told The Daily Caller it did not place the ad and that it has “forensic evidence of photo altering.”
The badly constructed image of bare-chested men over a picture of Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton and an NRA logo urges viewers to “find out more.”
Photo Credit: The Daily Beast
Cotton is running for the Senate in Arkansas. He is a social conservative so an advertising strategy that involves a gay hook-up app probably wouldn’t be an arrow in the NRA’s media planner’s quiver.
Cotton is endorsed by the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action with an “A” rating on gun rights.
The Daily Beast quoted a Republican strategist on why the ad may have been placed: to “reach beyond the stereotypical straight white male gun owner.”
While it’s true that the NRA would like to widen its membership base, the group is cautious with its media buys. It is equally cautious with the use of its logo. The logo in the ad is a copy of a sticker the NRA gives away — not the logo typically used in advertising. I would know, since I was the online marketing manager for the National Rifle Association.
The only thing left is for The Daily Beast to admit they got punk’d on this one.