The Duck Commander Independence Bowl

[Black Diamond Vol]

Seriously, has anyone ever milked their 15 minutes for more than the Duck Dynasty guys?  In few years, college marketing texts will have entire chapters dedicated to them.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10507319/duck-commander-sponsor-indepedence-bowl

[murfvol]

I thought it was wasted money at first, but after further review it's probably a good idea to imprint the Duck Commander brand on the consciousness of consumers. Presumably they'd like it to supplant the Duck Dynasty brand, which is A&E's. Sell Duck Commander and they reap all the profits. 

Incidentally, the Duck Commander license was substantially cheaper than the one for Duck Commander last year (last time I checked). That's why discount retailers used it. They could still hit their price point.

[Be-the-Vol]

Good for them, they are living the American deam.  Start a small comapny that fills a need with a quality product, build that company into something that branches out and cashes in on the original success.  That' :thumbup:s a beautiful thing. 

Also, they are people that many (not all or even a mojority by any stretch) can relate to.  Several of the family members have come back from very dark places to get a second chance, and have done well.  I say get as much $ as you can now, it will not last forever, that's for sure. 

[Hollerboy]

Problem is....they dont have a quality product.  Their duck calls suck and their hunting videos are even worse. Those are what they made their name on.

[HerbTarlekVol]

Good for them, they are living the American deam.  Start a small comapny that fills a need with a quality product, build that company into something that branches out and cashes in on the original success.  That' :thumbup:s a beautiful thing. 

Also, they are people that many (not all or even a mojority by any stretch) can relate to.  Several of the family members have come back from very dark places to get a second chance, and have done well.  I say get as much $ as you can now, it will not last forever, that's for sure. 

This, plus their "fame" has lasted a little bit more than 15 minutes.  The show is in its 5th season, now.  5 years is an eternity in television.  

And to add, they have lasted and prospered from a ratings standpoint despite the best efforts of the left and its allies in the media to damage them both professionally and personally, and they have done it their way.  A&E executives tried to steer the show away from the Robertsons story of family, faith, and hard work, yet the Robertsons were strong enough and had enough support from their fans and supporters to cut those cut those attempts off at the knees.  

15 minutes?  Not even close.  

[Be-the-Vol]

Problem is....they dont have a quality product.  Their duck calls suck and their hunting videos are even worse. Those are what they made their name on.

I'm not a hunter, but I know a couple of hard core hunters at work that love their calls.  I have no idea what a good or bad call is, but I would imagine that they wouldn't be able to have built such a large business based on a bad product.  I'm not saying that that hasn't happened before, but in such a specialized market, how could they have survived without a good product?  Just my unimformed $.02.   

[HerbTarlekVol]

Problem is....they dont have a quality product.  Their duck calls suck and their hunting videos are even worse. Those are what they made their name on.

Buddy of mine who is a long time outdoors editor of a major newspaper and one of the most dedicated hunters around disagrees with you.  He says that they put some of the best products available on the market long before anybody ever heard of them because of TV.  

Making a name is one thing.  Making money is another.  You don't make the kind of money they were able to make before they were ever thought of being a TV reality show by making inferior products.  

[Black Diamond Vol]

I'm not a hunter, and I've never watched a minute of their show, nor will I.  Not that I have anything against them.  I watch a little reality TV, but it's mostly the competition shows (Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc.).  Those unscripted shows (and by "unscripted", I mean completely and totally scripted), are not my cup of tea. 

I don't begrudge those guys anything.  They've found their market, and they've made a fortune.  That's capitalism. 

But as an Amazon employee, I see the ridiculous quantity and variety of their products at work everyday.  The bobbleheads.  The board games.  The Christmas albums.  The bedsheets(!).  It just amazes me that people will spend their money on some of this stuff.

[Ridge Runner]

Seriously, has anyone ever milked their 15 minutes for more than the Duck Dynasty guys? 

Yes. The Kardashians.

[Creek Walker]

Problem is....they dont have a quality product.  Their duck calls suck and their hunting videos are even worse. Those are what they made their name on.

Duck Commander was putting out quality products years before Duck Dynasty was ever dreamed of.

[VinnieVOL]

Making a name is one thing.  Making money is another.  You don't make the kind of money they were able to make before they were ever thought of being a TV reality show by making inferior products.  

That's the thing that amazes me.  They seemingly got pretty stinkin rich way before the tv show, just think of how those riches have multiplied since the show hit it big.   

[Hollerboy]

Buddy of mine who is a long time outdoors editor of a major newspaper and one of the most dedicated hunters around disagrees with you.  He says that they put some of the best products available on the market long before anybody ever heard of them because of TV.  

Making a name is one thing.  Making money is another.  You don't make the kind of money they were able to make before they were ever thought of being a TV reality show by making inferior products.  

I am also the state waterfowl biologist and have been duck hunting for 40  years and i can say without a doubt that their calls suck. I know a gob of duck hunters and not one blows their calls. Never has one of their calls been used in competition and even placed. They put their names on alot of stuff that they dont make. The only people i know who use their calls are guys who are new to the sport or cant call worth crap. I aint an expert on many things....but i live eat and breathe duck hunting.

[droner]

I am also the state waterfowl biologist and have been duck hunting for 40  years and i can say without a doubt that their calls suck. I know a gob of duck hunters and not one blows their calls. Never has one of their calls been used in competition and even placed. They put their names on alot of stuff that they dont make. The only people i know who use their calls are guys who are new to the sport or cant call worth crap. I aint an expert on many things....but i live eat and breathe duck hunting.

Yea, but you still haven't told us how to kill off about a million of these danged faux "Canada" geese. 

[Coupe De VOL]

I am also the state waterfowl biologist and have been duck hunting for 40  years and i can say without a doubt that their calls suck. I know a gob of duck hunters and not one blows their calls. Never has one of their calls been used in competition and even placed. They put their names on alot of stuff that they dont make. The only people i know who use their calls are guys who are new to the sport or cant call worth crap. I aint an expert on many things....but i live eat and breathe duck hunting.

I did a lot of duck hunting back in the 70s and 80s when I was growing up and I vaguely remember Duck Commander calls.  IIRC, they were kinda new back then and fairly easy for a novice to use, which was good for a kid like me.  I remember the old guys who could really call would not fool with 'em.  

[Be-the-Vol]

I am also the state waterfowl biologist and have been duck hunting for 40  years and i can say without a doubt that their calls suck. I know a gob of duck hunters and not one blows their calls. Never has one of their calls been used in competition and even placed. They put their names on alot of stuff that they dont make. The only people i know who use their calls are guys who are new to the sport or cant call worth crap. I aint an expert on many things....but i live eat and breathe duck hunting.

I will definitely defer to the expert on the call question.  I’ve never hunted ducks (I would like to), don’t know the first thing about calls of any type (I would like to), and definitely know nothing of call competitions.  However, I do watch a lot of hunting shows on TV from the comfort of my recliner.  

I guess we can say that they are living another kind of dream, make crappy stuff, and sell it to the masses in hopes someone buys the stuff.  Come to think of it, I could make some crappy stuff and sell it, nope, I can’t grow a beard.  

I think I may be the first person on any message board I frequent to admit to watching the show (I’ve seen every show multiple times), but I do enjoy their humor.  They don’t have to cuss or use gross sexual innuendo to get viewers - I like aspect as well.

[Creek Walker]

I guess we can say that they are living another kind of dream, make crappy stuff, and sell it to the masses in hopes someone buys the stuff.  Come to think of it, I could make some crappy stuff and sell it, nope, I can’t grow a beard.  

Phil Robertson would've never been able to grow the Duck Commander brand by making crappy stuff and selling it to the masses. Back in the day, he didn't have all the cheap publicity that he started getting in later years (even before A&E came knocking and he became a Walmart darling). He built his company from the ground up. You don't do that without quality products.

Are competition callers going to carry a Duck Commander call into competition today and win? Of course not. They're mass produced now. You don't carry a mass-produced call into competition and stand toe-to-toe with someone carrying a $200 custom. But for hunters on a budget who need a handful of cheap calls that don't cost them an arm and a leg, Duck Commander calls are still not terrible even now that they've gone the mass-produced route (I'm pretty sure I don't know as many duck hunters as Hollerboy, but I do know enough, and I know a good number who carry DC calls).

It's the same way with any type of call. You aren't going to carry a Primos box call into a turkey calling contest and win against someone who is carrying a custom-made box. But that doesn't mean Primos' products are crappy. It just means that they are what they are.

[Be-the-Vol]

Phil Robertson would've never been able to grow the Duck Commander brand by making crappy stuff and selling it to the masses. Back in the day, he didn't have all the cheap publicity that he started getting in later years (even before A&E came knocking and he became a Walmart darling). He built his company from the ground up. You don't do that without quality products.

Are competition callers going to carry a Duck Commander call into competition today and win? Of course not. They're mass produced now. You don't carry a mass-produced call into competition and stand toe-to-toe with someone carrying a $200 custom. But for hunters on a budget who need a handful of cheap calls that don't cost them an arm and a leg, Duck Commander calls are still not terrible even now that they've gone the mass-produced route (I'm pretty sure I don't know as many duck hunters as Hollerboy, but I do know enough, and I know a good number who carry DC calls).

It's the same way with any type of call. You aren't going to carry a Primos box call into a turkey calling contest and win against someone who is carrying a custom-made box. But that doesn't mean Primos' products are crappy. It just means that they are what they are.

Your overall point is the same as my original post.  However, given that I'm not a duck hunter and know nothing about duck calls, I deferred to the person on the board who appeared to be in the best position to make a determination as to the quality of the calls in question (I know, too many prepositions) .  My comment on the "crappy" calls was tongue-in-cheek.    

I did go onto several duck hunting message boards and found several hunters who recommended the DC calls for lower cost calls.  It is an interesting subject, and I thought I'd throw my $.02 in.