The RFK Jr. Super Bowl Ad Did What It Aimed to Do

One of the most brain-burning ads of the Super Bowl was from American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting the third-party presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:

The ad, which cost $7 million, literally just overlaid RFK Jr.’s face on a 1960 JFK ad:

The most distinctive feature of the ad is the endless repetition of “Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy,” but the retro soundtrack also hits the nostalgia buttons of those who look back fondly at the Camelot of RFK Jr.’s uncle and the 1968 campaign of his father. It incorporates the 1960 line “a man who’s old enough to know, and young enough to do,” which I suppose helps distinguish the 70-year-old RFK Jr. from 77-year-old Donald Trump and 81-year-old Joe Biden. Why, he’s practically a kid!

The current Kennedy offered a “sorry if you were offended” half-apology to family members irked at the appropriation of the family name, tweeting, “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 involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff.” The insincerity was apparent from the fact that he spread the ad on Twitter and Instagram and (at this writing, around lunchtime the next day) it was still pinned to the top of his Twitter feed.

Of course, the Kennedys are hardly in a position to complain about the use of the family name. All of them have long done so for whatever purposes help them win power, avoid prison, or otherwise get them in favor or out of trouble. That’s how we got RFK Jr. as a prominent public figure in the first place.

Was the ad a good idea? I’d say yes, given what RFK Jr.’s campaign is looking to accomplish. The high price tag reflects the vast, mass audience for the game, many of whom voluntarily watch the ads because they have a reputation for being entertaining. It can be a great way to reach a lot of people who aren’t plugged in to politics. The first rule of Super Bowl ads is to make sure the watchers see or can’t miss hearing the name of the product — a hard task because lots of people are watching in crowded living rooms and bars with a lot of chatter. This ad did that in spades, by hammering home the candidate’s famous name, his image, and the fact that he’s running for president. RFK Jr. is trying to attract the support of people who are jaded about our political system and big business, and can be pried away from the two parties — an audience that is likely to include a lot of people who don’t follow political news much and didn’t know he’s running.

Look at recent polls. An early December Wall Street Journal poll found that Kennedy was viewed favorably by 34 percent and unfavorably by 42 percent, with 24 percent not knowing enough to have an opinion, compared with only 8 percent who had no fixed opinion of Kamala Harris, and 3 percent who said the same about Biden or Trump. In mid December, Quinnipiac found an even higher number (37 percent) saying that they hadn’t heard enough to form an opinion about him, compared with 3 percent each for Biden and Trump. That poll found his favorability at 30 percent and unfavorability at 32 percent. In a mid-January Harvard-Harris poll, his favorability was much better (48 percent favorable, 30 percent unfavorable), with 22 percent having no opinion or never having heard of him.

Repeating the name “Kennedy” won’t change people’s opinions of RFK Jr., but it might cause more of them to pay attention and check him out. That seems to me to be good value for the super PAC’s money.