Derek the Dodo is a fictional dodo used by Ammu-Nation for advertising in the early 1980s in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Derek is used to entice children into using guns at Saturday Safety Fun and to shift blame to 'anti-gun zealots'. A likely reason for using the dodo as a mascot is that the bird is extinct, which pokes fun at firearms and hunting.
The following are transcribed from radio ads from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Ad 1
Transcript
Male announcer:
Hey, kids. Why spend Satuday watching boring cartoons about fighting aliens when you can help fight real, illegal aliens? Head to some real-life Saturday safety fun, at Ammu-Nation with Derek the Dodo!
Guns can be very dangerous, especially the little people who don't like hole shottin' 'em, or the birds on deserted islands, who thought the nice sailors only wanted to be friends. But that's another story.