Anyone else find this offensive?

[tuxdad]

I was able to see the commercial twice and was not amused by it !! I wrote them an email, telling them that since traditionalists are such dumb and poor hunters, they wont have to worry about my money being spent there on any of their traditional stuff or anything else for that matter.. I'll go to 3 rivers or one of their competitors before I but from them anymore...

[slivrslingr]

Being overseas, I haven't seen the ad, nor do I need to.  When the retailers that rely on US to make them money, especially in a down economy, start driving wedges between hunter groups, we have to stand up and voice our opinion.  As hunters, of all weapon choices, we need to be working together to change how non- and anti-hunters view us, especially non-hunters.  Hollyweird already portrays us ALL as a bunch of bumbling idiots, we don't need Cabelas reinforcing that stereotype of any one group.  YMMV.

[Rob DiStefano]

i just noticed this thread for the first time.  overall, a very good topic - but some actions need to be addressed ...

1. lemme be as clear as i can to all ...

PLEASE DO NOT CLAIM TO BE A REPRESENTATIVE OF TRAD GANG, OR USE THE NAME "TRAD GANG" IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM UNLESS YOU HAVE DIRECT PERMISSION FROM TERRY GREEN - there are no exceptions.

2. please be respectful in your posting, trad gang will not tolerate public bashing of any kind - there are other online venues for that kinda nonsense.  thank you.

3. imho, cabela inc, knew pretty well what they were doing with their ad, and they got the response they at least somewhat expected.  

thanks to all you good folks that took cabela inc. to task and let them know that it was NOT ok to depict trad bowhunters to the general public in such a demeaning manner.

[TonyW]

Lighten up. Lefty didn't go postal on ya, and he has earned that right, since he is a postmaster. Responsibilities of a postmaster typically include management of a centralized mail distribution facility, establishment of letter carrier routes, supervision of letter carriers and clerks, and enforcement of the organization's rules and procedures.

I never stepped foot in Cabellas, but whenever I weave through my local Bass Pro, I always gawk at the crowd around the archery counter. Nothing much for me to buy, 99.999% vanes or bolt-on doodads, but they do have nice wool socks.

At least the Cabella's ad has alerted the crowd not to shoot their crossbows at every sound they hear or shadow they see when they venture off the asphalt and concrete.

[leatherneck]

Just for the record, I don't wear "panties". I go commando.
Sorry, I figured this post needed some lightning up.  

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Of all the posts on here, the one that landed home the best for me was Jason Westbrock's. We spend a ton of time laughing at the latest gadget, camo, lazer sight, etc.

We should be able to take it a bit too.

I don't care for Cabelas, which is hard because we have one 20 minutes from my house. I will say they are a great supporter of Michigan Bowhunters Association. I walked through the archery section last month, and it was more crossbow than archery. Oh well.

I suppose what I'm saying is that if Cabelas, and all of the high tech bowhunters see me as a bumbling idiot, well, I just don't care. I know what I am.

[Flatshooter]

Think about it! It's always about the bucks!! Wheelie shooters need sights, releases, rangefinders,limb silencers etc. There is certainly less money to be made form the guy who goes into the woods with a stick and string. He may even be more prone to hunt in a flannel shirt and jeans than some fancy scent-loc suit. I not so much offended as I am just plain sick of the marketing techniques.

[Biff]

I contacted Cabela's with OUR  displesure. They immediatly responded and said the add has been pulled, and apoligized.

[kadbow]

Doesn't bother me one bit, I don't hunt in my longjohns.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Roger Norris 2:
Of all the posts on here, the one that landed home the best for me was Jason Westbrock's. We spend a ton of time laughing at the latest gadget, camo, lazer sight, etc.

We should be able to take it a bit too. ....

i agree.  i could care less how cabela inc. plays the marketing game ... but this was never about you and me - the target demographic for that tv ad wasn't the trad community - there's no need to belittle trad bowhunting/archery in the eyes of the ignorant.  the negative publicity trad bowhunting dealt by cabela inc, or anyone else, should never go unresponded.  i wanna see the young'uns, our legacy, respect trad and not be influenced by negative media.

[R.W.]

If you dislike this type of marketing, contact Cabela's and inform them of this displeasure.

Tell them to remove your name from their mailing lists, and cancel any order that you can.

Inform them that you will take YOUR custom, elsewhere, where you are not seen as a bumbling fool.

And tell them that YOU will personally let others know that doing business with Cabela's DOES NOTHING for traditional archery, and hunting with tradtional gear.

Vote with you wallet, that is what will really hurt them.

[LAR43]

Send them an e mail and reconsider before spending a dime with them. Let them know you're peed off!!!! & to stop any & all correspondence to you.
I just did as R.W. mentioned. A wallet vote gets their attention immediately!.

Larry

[TSP]

Haven't yet seen the Cabela's message but I'm surprised that some here (but thankfully not most) feel so completely callous and apathetic about that sort of thing.  While it's true that some who shoot stickbows may express what seems to be unfair bias against compounds and associated accessories, IMO there's quite a difference between that very limited forum of opinion vs. one shaped by an international media campaign reaching millions of people (hunters and nonhunters) and specifically intended to shape or distort the perceptions of their audience purely for personal profit.  Quite a difference indeed.

Many who come here think of traditional archery (yes, I'll use that term and do it proudly) as not unlike a very good friend.  All I can say is that if someone is backstabbing your very good friend on a commercial scale just to make money and it isn't offensive to you, then just maybe that 'very good friend' isn't so important to you after all.  For those who think otherwise and take steps in such situations, traditional archery and its followers thank you.

Time to go find that footage, assess the level of backstabbing and contact the company accordingly.

[Strutter]

Heard some compound guys at work talking about this thread and how the trad guys were all worked up over the commercial.  They figured the commercial was OK for advertising but this thread was 10 X better for Cabelas cause of all the complaining the trad guys were doing on it.  They said they were going to all go and order something from them.  Also heard them say that maybe the trad guys needed a diaper change or maybe just a new pacifier.  
   
Rob

[Curveman]

The ad got pulled though so millions will now not see it. Those compound boys buying a few trinkets won't offset that. No greater pacifier than success!

[amar911]

I guess being a lawyer, I am used to having people depict my "groups" in a negative light to further their own purposes. While I don't like that about my profession or my traditional archery group, I think we all need to have thicker skins about such things. I personally like Cabela's a lot. They supply many outdoor products that we would find difficult to obtain elsewhere, and they support the outdoor sports like few other large companies do. I do think we should let them know that the ad was not well received by us, and after doing that it seems they have responded appropriately.

Allan

[Colt]

Is there anybody out there that hunts with a Mathew's bow, not a yuppy?

They all just seem like a bunch of arrogant jerks because they think their equipment is sooooooo much better than anybody else's and because of that, they always seem to think they are better hunters.

A couple of these yahoos I know only drink imported beer and wine. I mean c'mon, that's just not right.

[ChuckC]

there are several points to this thread that we need to think about.
1).  We need to thicken our skin and not get too hot.
2).  We do NOT need to giggle and say "oh well."  We DO need to (and did) voice out about the discourtesy.  It can (and did... thank Cabelas) get the point across.
3) That done, we need to get on with life, stay vigilant, and not worry or fret more than necessary.
4) We need to include this knowledge and thought in our talk here and elsewhere.  What's good for the goose """".

Note to those who think we over reacted.... if that "bumbling idiot" in the commercial were portrayed as Hispanic, or black, or a woman or (insert your favorite group) do you think they would have even gone and aired it ?  

We are people, just like them.  Fourty years ago that sort of advertisement was the norm.  Today, people need to consider more angles before they do this.
ChuckC

[Curveman]

My thank you note to Cabelas:

Joe,

Thank you for your prompt and sensitive response. I am back in Cabela’s camp and encouraging my tradbow friends to join me!

 

Thanks again,

 
Steve

For me this wasn't an issue of needing a thicker skin. I wasn't hurt at all by the ad but I didn't want the image of tradbow hunters to be tarnished even in the minds of new hunters.

[Don Thomas]

There's been a lot of talk about "over-reaction" here, and in a sense it's justified: in the Big Picture, neither the original ad nor the details of the discussion here are going to matter much. But there are larger principles involved. As any corporate entity gets larger, its natural history is to become less aware of its constituency's needs and concerns. Doesn't matter if it's Cabelas, the Wall Street banking industry, or the federal government. That doesn't HAVE to happen... but that's the default position, and that's what WILL happen unless someone (either the corporation or its customers) prevents it. And let's face it: a lot of the big problems facing hunting in general and bowhunting in particular have arisen directly because of corporate, commercial greed. (Does anyone here think we would be sharing archery seasons with crossbows if someone wasn't making a lot of money selling crossbows?) So, unless we do respond appropriately to this kind of thing, we're going to get run over. Meanwhile, this episode represents a good argument for buying from a favorite bowyer, the local sporting goods store, a trad supply catalog, or someone else who still gets it. Don