Dressed like a Chippendales Uncle Sam, one enterprising Navy veteran and roofer is capitalizing on the nation’s birthday this year by tossing in a free AR-15 with each job he performs.
Zach Blenkinsopp, the owner of Digital Roofing Innovations in Decatur, Alabama, posted the video advertisement to Facebook on July 4, and it quickly racked up views — 175,000 at the time of publication. Perhaps that’s because the video is pure star-spangled brilliance.
Free-firearm promotions for random businesses aren’t exactly new; these days, you can get gratis gunpower with everything from engagement-ring purchases and high-volume credit-card sales to Baptist church attendance. But Blenkinsopp says he and his business partner felt their pitch needed something. Just one thing, really: It needed some more ’Merica.
“I used to live in Texas for a while and saw car dealerships doing this sort of thing, free shotguns with a truck,” Blenkinsopp told Task & Purpose. “I felt like the gun giveaways were never really done well, but if you’re a veteran and really push America and the Second Amendment stuff, I figured it would do well.”
Related: This Roofing Job Has Great Benefits, Like A Free AR-15 »
The video comes with all the key ingredients for a viral post. Military veteran? Blenkinsopp served in eight years in the Navy, so that’s a check. Over-the-top Americana? Cowboy hat and boots, spangly bowtie, socks, short-shorts, Budweiser, and a rifle: check. A politically relevant joke? “Donald Trump says make America great again,” Blenkinsopp says in the video, “I say make America gun again. MAGA!”
Detractors may write it off as a gimmick or wag a finger at Blenkinsopp for using the nation’s birthday to close a sale, but announcing an AR-15 giveaway on the 4th is about as American as you can get, Blenkinsopp says.
Maybe this will revitalize the roofing industry. Last October, Weatherproof Roofing in Denver, Colorado, announced they were giving new employees AR-15s. The reason: They got short-staffed after offering the rifles to new roofing clients, and business got booming, so to speak.
So, if you’re in need of a new roof and a little range time, you have some options. As long as you like 5.56.