Yahoo News Super Bowl: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Presidential Campaign Spot Repurposes 1960 John F. Kennedy Ad
A presidential campaign ad for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl — and it might have looked familiar for folks who were around when John F. Kennedy was running for president.
The ad, from super PAC American Values 2024, resembled a presidential campaign ad for Kennedy’s uncle, JFK, when he was campaigning for president alongside his running mate Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960.
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The original, black-and-white ad features a catchy song repeating “Kennedy” over and over in the chorus, while images of JFK and his name are shown over lyrics like: “Do you want a man for president who’s seasoned through and through? But not so doggone seasoned that he won’t try something new? A man who’s old enough to know and young enough to do?”
RFK Jr.’s includes the same song with the same lyrics, along with the same (now-vintage) vibe of the original. However, the new ad, which takes on red hues instead of the gray tones of the original, features RFK Jr.’s image superimposed over some of those same images. Both ads feature the phrase “Kennedy for President.”
At the end of the spot, it says it hails from American Values 2024, which describes itself on X (formerly Twitter) as a “super PAC dedicated to restoring the soul of democracy to America. Building a movement, the long-term mission is to take back our gov’t from corporate interests.”
His cousin, Bobby Shriver, hit social media blasting the ad.
“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. She strongly supported my health care work at @ONECampaign & @RED which he opposes,” Shriver wrote. (Shriver’s mother was Eunice Kennedy Shriver.)
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. She strongly supported my health care work at @ONECampaign & @RED which he opposes.
— Bobby Shriver (@bobbyshriver) February 12, 2024
Kennedy, who is running as an independent in the 2024 presidential campaign, later posted an apology to his family.
“I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain,” he wrote on X. “The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff. I love you all. God bless you.”
However, some people pointed out that the ad was in his pinned post on the social media platform.
While Kennedy made some controversial comments, his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, recently told The Hollywood Reporter that she tries to refrain from weighing in.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last two years,” she said. “I pay less attention to social media. There’s a cycle to news. Things spike, they talk about it for one or two days, then they move on. And so I’ve learned to stay out of it because my words live on. And because Bobby’s my husband. And I would never want to hurt Bobby. I love him.”
CBS Sports has said the cost of one 30-second ad is $7 million this year.
Watch RFK Jr.’s ad, and JFK’s original, below.
Learn more: https://t.co/4YjLwreZN9 pic.twitter.com/JLEPW7H901
— American Values 2024 (@AmValues2024) February 12, 2024
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