Thank you to all who responded to the company regarding this matter as it seems they have pulled the ad. As I stated elsewhere, I am too old probably to see our archery seasons disappear, but I would love for my son, and his children, to be able to enjoy this sport of ours throughout thier lifetime. We as archers, need to be supportive of each other, where it counts, to protect our sport. Yes we do sometimes bash our wheel bow counterparts, but my experience has been that the bashing we recieve from them is 100 times worse. I fully intend to maintain my traditional values in hopes of bringing others back into archery as it was meant to be, and defend our sport against all who seek to condemn it, and I hope you all will do the same. I'm including the response I recieved, which was the same as the others, and what I sent them. Thanks again for everyones supporting actions!
Regards...Ken
Kenneth,
Thank you for telling us of your concerns about the television commercial, which is being pulled off the air as of this morning.
We certainly did not intend to offend anyone in the hunting world and apologize for that. It was not our intention to depict traditional bowhunters in a bad light nor pit one segment of the outdoor sporting world against another.
Our attempt at a light-hearted message apparently missed the target and we are moving quickly to correct it.
Again, thank you for letting us know your feelings.
Sincerely,
Joe
Joe Arterburn
Corporate Communications Manager
Cabela's Inc.
One Cabela Drive
Sidney, NE 69160
[email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
[email protected] [mailto:
[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 9:14 PM
To: Joe Arterburn
Subject: Television Commercial
Dear Mr. Arterburn,
I have just viewed your commercial on the Outdoor Channel that depicts an archer with all of the latest gear as being an intelligent, up to date hunter, and compares him to another archer carrying a recurve bow and a back quiver, dressed in red long johns, as being a bumbling idiot! Being a traditional bowhunter who hunts with nothing but longbows, wood arrows, and a back quiver, I take extreme offense to the image you are portraying of traditional archers! I have seen many more bumbling idiots in the woods carrying all the latest equipment than I ever have of those who choose traditional equipment in my 40+ years of bowhunting! In your corporate core values statement you list "Respect for individuals". I find this advertisement a violation of that statement, and totally disrespectful to myself, and all traditional archers. You may cancel my Cabelas Club membership effective immediately, and I will not consider Cabelas for any of my outdoor needs as long as this advertisement continues to air!
Respectfully,
Kenneth Neal