In 1974 Master Lock aired its famous shot lock Super Bowl Commercial which gave them the tagline Tough Under Fire™. Using a high-powered .30 caliber rifle the ‘Marksman’ is able to, “blow a half in hole clear through,” the body of the Master Lock No. 15 laminated steel padlock, “but the Master Lock still holds tight.”
In 1976, The Miami News ran the article Does Master Lock hold up to high –caliber rifle shot? For the article, they not only tested the Master Lock No. 15 with two shots with identical placement from a high-caliber rifle, but they also used a second No. 15 padlock which absorbed the impact from four bullets, also with identical placement.
In 1983, the popular television show ‘FIGHT BACK’ with David Horowitz put the “Tough Under Fire” commercial to the test and the No. 15 Master Lock passed the test again.
In 1996, the Master Lock Company’s “Tough Under Fire” advertising campaign celebrated its 21st appearance during Super Bowl XXX. This particular broadcast was seen by 138 million viewers which was the highest viewing of a television program in history. Master Lock credits the many years of their exposure on Super Bowl Sunday as responsible for pushing their brand recognition to an all-time high.
In a 2006 episode of MythBusters entitled Mega Movie Myths there was a segment called Shootin’ Locks in which they tested the myth. This segment pitted standard door locks and padlocks up against 4 separate firearms: 9mm handgun, .375 magnum, 12 gage shotgun with a dear slug round and M1 Garand .30 caliber high-powered rifle. The padlocks used in this test were all Master Lock No. 15s, the only caveat was they were firing from point blank range. Nevertheless, the Master Lock No. 15 proved plausible and still remains Tough Under Fire™.
“If it’s worth locking, it’s worth a Master Lock”
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