Robert Kennedy Jr. Super Bowl Ad Draws Criticism, Plagiarism Accusations — 2024 Presidential Candidate Apologizes

Dozens of companies shelled out $7 million per 30-second commercial during Super Bowl LVIII, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francsico 49ers.

One of the more surprising ads had to do with the 2024 presidential election.

What Happened: The list of companies advertising during Super Bowl LVIII included many of the usual suspects who use the large viewership of the NFL championship game to advertise upcoming product launches or new items available.

The Super Bowl commercial list also saw several first time companies airing ads to capitalize on the more than 100 million people who tune into the game annually. Paramount Global PARAPARAA, which had the rights to the game, likely benefitted from strong ad demand and the game going to overtime.

Among the biggest surprises was an ad from political action committee American Values, which is backing a third-party run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The ad for Kennedy Jr. featured an eerily similar feel to a 1960 election ad for then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who won the presidential election that year and is also Kennedy's uncle.

The Super Bowl commercial from American Values used the same slogans and images from Kennedy's original 1960 ad, drawing concerns of plagiarism, according to Newsweek. Many watching the ad were surprised to see Kennedy Jr.'s likeness swapped in over images of the former president.

Kennedy Jr.'s team told Newsweek that they were "pleasantly surprised" by the Super Bowl ad from American Values PAC.

The family of Kennedy Jr., who have regularly clashed with the presidential candidate, criticized the ad in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"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. Respect for science, vaccines & health care equity were in her DNA," Bobby Shriver said.

Shriver is also a nephew of John F. Kennedy. In his post, Shriver referenced the anti-vaccine stance that Kennedy Jr. has become popular for and one of the reasons the Kennedy family ultimately distances themselves from the presidential candidate.

Related Link: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Doesn’t Want To Be Trump’s Vice President Pick, Here’s Why

Why It's Important: Kennedy Jr. has since apologized for the commercial that ran and distanced himself from the PAC that spent $7 million on the commercial.

"I'm so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any approval or approval from my campaign," Kennedy Jr. tweeted.

The presidential candidate said FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules prevent PACs from consulting with a candidate they are backing. The apology tweet from Kennedy Jr. has been seen over eight million times on X.

Kennedy Jr. also issued a personal apology to Shriver on Twitter, with a reply to his tweet.

"Bobby. I'm so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign."

While Kennedy Jr. apologized and attempted to distance himself from the controversial ad, some on social media were quick to point out that the presidential candidate was using the ad video in his pinned tweet at the top of his social media platform.

"Our momentum is growing. It's time for an Independent President to heal the divide in our country," Kennedy Jr.'s pinned tweet says with the accompanying Super Bowl ad.

Kennedy Jr.'s pinned tweet has over three million impressions on Twitter.

The lawyer and political activist was previously running as a Democratic candidate in the 2024 election and launched a third-party campaign that also angered his family.

The PAC backing Kennedy Jr. marked the only presidential ad to air during the Super Bowl, which could suggest the presidential candidate and his backers are ready for a challenging race against frontrunners Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

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