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Ben McConnell

June 03, 2008

Buy a car, get a gun

Buyacargetagun
Only in America.

Posted by Ben McConnell on June 03, 2008 | Permalink

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http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir_percap-crime-murders-firearms-per-capita

Guns don't kill people? I reckon they help....

Posted by: MA at Jun 3, 2008 7:09:45 PM

You really aren't in Chicago anymore... gotta love the Lone Star State.:)

Posted by: Stephanie Weaver at Jun 4, 2008 12:18:12 AM

You really aren't in Chicago anymore... gotta love the Lone Star State.:)

Posted by: Stephanie Weaver at Jun 4, 2008 12:18:38 AM

IS this real, and if so where can i find that deal around my town. I am very curious to see the results of this campaign. The funny thing is what if it works?

Posted by: mathew at Jun 4, 2008 7:39:51 AM

Yup, it is -- was -- a real promotion (it apparently ended May 31). It was from a car dealership in Butler, Missouri.

Haven't heard what the results are but it's clear that the local media ate it up. Whether or not that's good remains to be seen.

One-trick pony promotions are not exactly cause for long-term loyalty.

Posted by: Ben McConnell at Jun 4, 2008 9:04:50 AM

I guess it would make more sense to take the gun than the gas card. You'll use up the gas card quickly, but you'll be able to steal untold amounts of gas using the gun :)

Posted by: Eric the SURGE Freak at Jun 4, 2008 12:42:46 PM

Isn't that the plotline to the Mad Max movies?

Posted by: Ben McConnell at Jun 4, 2008 12:49:10 PM

Although they must be confident in getting some degree of loyalty to give them a gun!

Posted by: Bill Gammell at Jun 4, 2008 2:12:37 PM

fyi, I saw this reported on the news, and car buyers will still need to pass a screening & register their new heat. I know, it's small comfort, but it is SOME comfort. The car dealer was also interviewed & said that the vast majority of customers were opting for the gun over the gas card -- and that most of 'em already owned a gun. Insert clip of Yosemite Sam shootin' off his pistols here. Yeehaw!

Posted by: Patricia at Jun 4, 2008 2:13:05 PM

@Stephanie: Seems like this would happen in Texas, bein' a crazy state (and a likewise crazy promotion and all), but it's Missouri, which I guess makes Missouri crazier than Texas.

Posted by: Ben McConnell at Jun 4, 2008 6:52:32 PM

See, it's promotions like this that remind me just how "from Massachusetts" I really am.

Posted by: Steve Safran at Jun 4, 2008 10:17:21 PM

Wow. What a campaign. This would do well in Detroit no?

Posted by: Search Engine Optimization Journal at Jun 5, 2008 9:38:46 AM

Needless to say this would be illegal in Canada. Not sure a handgun really prevents autotheft. Maybe some sort of tazer built into the stearing column. :-)

Posted by: Muskie at Jun 5, 2008 1:03:08 PM

How crazy is this--this story was sent to me by a colleague who is an oxford-trained academic. Grrr...

What does this say about our society? Well, Canada ain't looking so bad. If too many of us leave at once, they may put up a fence.

Posted by: Promise Phelon at Jun 12, 2008 11:03:03 PM

Ben - to the shock of no one this was very successful on many levels - they sold cars and got tons of national press.

Posted by: John Jantsch at Jun 13, 2008 10:04:37 AM

Car dealerships are an interesting case study because it's not really car sales that most dealers need for growth, it's service maintenance. That's what drives loyalty. (Forgive the too-easy pun.)

In this particular case, if you toss out the national press (probably as valuable as a bag of beans to a small-town car dealership, which is governed by myriad state laws), the get-a-gun gimmick could still end up as a half-baked promotion if the dealership sucks at after-the-sale service.

Posted by: Ben McConnell at Jun 13, 2008 10:31:25 AM

Patricia, Texas has no form of gun registration. Who are they registering these guns with?

Posted by: Dustin at Jul 10, 2008 3:35:01 AM

it always depends on who will use it.

Posted by: new jersey airport car services at Aug 1, 2008 4:56:46 PM

great idea.up to now in the world no one can give this type of offer.every one wants gun only why because gun is more cost and it is complecated than gas card.do you want to buy a gas card,you can purchase in petrol filling shops.but what about gun?it is folowing some of the rules to take gun.anyway its nice idea.


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