Do you have your 'Trumpy Bear'?
Is it real? Or is it a spoof?
That question is being asked about a product that's been available since July, but is only just now being marketed on TV.
It's called "Trumpy Bear" and it appears to be a genuine effort by Exceptional Products, Inc. to appeal to Trump fans. Either that, or it is a scathingly brilliant put up job.
The teddy bear features a mop of blond hair that you can comb so that your Trumpy Bear's hair is never out of place. It also comes with an American flag blanket you can wrap yourself and your Trumpy Bear in to keep warm and cozy.
The commercial on YouTube - it has nearly 400,000 hits - features a picture of a grizzly bear with a voice over deeply intoning:
The wind whispered through the forest a storm is coming, you can not defeat the storm. From the trees rose a resounding voice, I fear nothing. I come when the Trumpet sounds. I am the Storm.
TRUMPY BEAR
The great American Grizzly introducing the original Trumpy Bear. The fearless super plus American Grizzly.
Does Trumpy Bear look like a grizzly? No, but it's great marketing. As for the rest, decide for yourself if this flag waving, patriotic display is for real.
The question whether it's a serious tribute to The Donald was addressed by the Kansas City Star.
Trumpy Bear is perplexing people who have watched the infomercial but can’t tell if the product is real or a parody cut from “Saturday Night Live” cloth. Perhaps that’s because Trumpy Bear “loves to go to the golf course.”
Thus, this has been the typical reaction to Trumpy Bear on social media: What the?
Or as @KolbyPanzanaro tweeted: “Dear god they made a trumpy bear.”
“Depending on what circles you run in, you may not be aware that Trumpy Bear is a thing,” writes Simon Dumenco at Ad Age.
“Or, if you are aware it’s a thing, you may not be certain what kind of thing it is — i.e., a real product or a spoof.”
The two-minute commercial was posted on YouTube in July, Dumenco reports. He found that the infomercial began running Oct. 13 on Animal Planet, Discovery, Grit TV and INSP (Inspiration Ministries.)
Now it’s also running on the Outdoor Channel, the American Heroes Channel and a few others.
“The type of shows it’s been airing on — including reruns of ‘Cops,’ ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ and ‘Bonanza’ — suggests that Trumpy Bear is not meant to be taken as a joke by its targeted TV viewing audience,” Dumenco writes.
What makes this product so brilliantly concieved is that it appeals to both pro and anti Trump Americans. If you're a never trumper, you can always buy it in order to deface or destroy it.
But if you're looking to get your money back, the company is one step ahead of you.
Sorry, we cannot accept returns of intentionally damaged bears.
I urge you to buy Trumpy Bear. You can put him on a shelf next to your Chia Obama.