New reports have surfaced that Arizona shooter Jared Loughner showed off his Glock in a series of posed photos. From the New York Times report: "[Police have] photos of Jared L. Loughner posing with a Glock 9mm pistol… In some of the photos he is holding the gun near his crotch, and in others, presumably shot in a mirror, he is holding the gun next to his buttocks."
Sound odd? It shouldn't. It sounds like a lot of snap-happy owners that Glock and other gun brands count on for marketing.
That Loughner would strike a pose with his Glock for the camera is hardly indicative of any abnormality. Not even his inclusion of skin is all that unusual. One need not be mentally unstable to strike poses with one's Glock.
In fact, Glock (and its competitors) count on this exact kind of user-generated, photographic, voluntary brand championship as part of its grassroots, word of mouth marketing mix. Brands have long known that social networking platforms are a perfect place for "viva voce" and brand engagement, and it's no different for firearm makers.
In light of the discovery of Loughner's Glock shots, we stopped by Glock's official Facebook pageand collected a random sampling from the photo gallery.
By no means is Glock the only brand that encourages this. Below are shots from similar galleries at the official Facebook pages of Springfield Armory, Sig Sauer and Smith & Wesson (latter two below).
But there is a stronger motivator for firearm brands to better police their social media presences with regard to recent events.
The below photos are currently featured on Glock's Facebook page. Those are Glocks with the sort of high-capacity magazines that enabled Loughner to shoot so many so fast. Even though reports have these magazines currently selling out across America (in anticipation of a ban), Glock's brand only stands to be embarrassed by the association and, in the wake of the shooting with legislators itching to blame gunmakers, its failure to edit its page is, at best, irresponsible to the brand and tone deaf to its struggles to reinforce itself as a responsible manufacturer of a product that shouldn't be begrudged a few bad eggs. Looking at Glock's offical Facebook page photos leaves one believing there are a lot of bad eggs... and that Glock is fine with that.
COMMENTARY: I just reviewed Glock's Facebook photos and the above photos are all still there.
Glock doesn't make many wall postings, but you would think that they would post at least one message of remorse for the near-mortal head wound of Congresswoman Gabrille Giffords, and condolences for the death of six innocent by-standards and 19 others wounded by that psycho Jaret Loughers, in Tucson, Arizona.
Jared Loughers, a satisifed Glock owner
Glock shows more concerns about the 2nd Amendment and the right for all Americans to bear arms, than the lives of innocent killed everyday by their handguns.
I know my post is oozing with political overtones, but it comes with the territory. In my opinion, Americans have far too many guns. What the hell is everybody afraid of? In a blog posted titled, "Infographic: How Many Small Firearms Are owned Worldwide, Some Appalling U.S. Gun Ownership and Crime Statistics", dated December 8, 2010, I was alarmed just how many guns Americans own. Judge for yourself. This is my blog, I believe in freedom of speech, so if you don't like it it's just tough shit.
Courtesy of an article dated January 15, 2011 appearing in BrandChannel
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