RFK Jr.'s 2024 Super Bowl Ad Has Everyone Talking For All The Wrong Reasons
A commercial for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that aired during the Super Bowl brought attention to his campaign, and controversy. The 30-second spot heavily mimicked a 1960 TV ad for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, which had a jingle repeatedly saying "Kennedy" throughout. One major difference was that RFK's Jr.'s ad asked viewers to "vote Independent."
RFK Jr.'s cousin, Bobby Shriver, quickly denounced the Super Bowl commercial. "My cousin's Super Bowl ad used our uncle's faces- and my Mother's. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the TV spot aired on February 11. His mother was Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a philanthropist whose work included founding the Special Olympics. Mark Shriver also added his distaste for the commercial. "I agree with my brother @bobbyshriver simple as that," he tweeted. The ad was posted to RFK Jr.'s X page where users blasted the presidential hopeful. "You should be ashamed of your self. Your whole family don't support you," one wrote. "You're no JFK," another added.
Not long after his cousins voiced their disapproval, RFK Jr. issued an apology on X. "I'm so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain," he tweeted three hours after posting the clip on February 11. RJK Jr. added that his campaign was not involved in creating the ad. Despite the apology to his family, RFK Jr. appeared to still support the TV spot.
The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. commercial cost $7 million
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted the controversial TV commercial to X, and pinned it to the top of his page on February 11 — the night of the Super Bowl. "Our momentum is growing. It's time for an Independent President to heal the divide in our country," he wrote alongside the spot that harkened heavily to John F. Kennedy's famous ad. Even after publicly apologizing to members of his family, RFK Jr. left the 30-second spot pinned to the top of his page, where it stayed as of time of writing.
As mentioned in his apology tweet, the Super Bowl ad was paid for and made by the American Values Super PAC. According to Super PAC co-founder, Tony Lyons, the spot cost $7 million. Lyons believed the backlash for the commercial was a ploy to derail RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign. "The panicked DC power brokers are working overtime to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they know he can and will end their culture of greed and corruption," Lyons said in a statement to CBS News on February 12, a day after the commercial aired.
Just days before the RFK Jr. commercial aired, his campaign and the Super PAC came under fire for allegedly conspiring to collect votes. "The DNC is in no position to assert morality over anyone," RFK Jr. wrote on X on February 9, in a since-deleted tweet (via The Hill). "It's sad to see the party my family built crash and burn," he added.