Why Robert F Kennedy's Super Bowl Commercial Has The Internet Divided

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a divisive presidential candidate by design, developing his policies on certain key issues based not on the platforms of existing political parties but on his own sometimes radical beliefs. Those controversial stances have earned him both a devoted following and condemnation as a conspiracy theorist. Unsurprisingly, then, a commercial for his presidential campaign that aired during Super Bowl LVIII remixing an ad from 1960 for his uncle John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign got plenty of people talking.

The ad's most noteworthy detractor is Bobby Shriver, JFK's nephew. "My cousin's Super Bowl ad used our uncle's faces- and my Mother's," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "She would be appalled by his deadly health care views."

The ad's proponents include @delinthecity_, who argued that its tribute to JFK might appeal particularly to Democrats who were alive during JFK's presidency. Meanwhile, @misterfilmstock simply wrote, "Not gonna lie. Very SMART move by #Kennedy for that presidential promo commercial."

Ultimately, however, the backlash reached a critical mass. This led to RFK Jr. himself apologizing for the ad, albeit specifically to members of his family who were upset by his use of JFK iconography. "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," he wrote on the X platform. Despite his apology, however, he pinned a tweet containing the ad in full.

While Bobby Shriver was the only Kennedy family member to write a post opposing Robert F. Kennedy's Super Bowl commercial, both his brother Mark Shriver and his sister Maria Shriver reshared his statement on X.

Meanwhile, podcast producer Roy Bellamy is among a number of third parties who criticized the ad after it aired during the Super Bowl LVIII broadcast. "We have officially found our worst Super Bowl commercial with that Kennedy political ad," he wrote on the X platform. Writer Jen Chaney and The Mountain Goats' drummer Jon Wurster were among a number of other users who expressed similar sentiments.

The commercial is similarly divisive on Reddit, where, for example, it served as the subject of a post to a board dedicated to a browser-based video game called The Campaign Trail. Notably, u/Still_Instruction_82 wrote that they appreciated the ad even if they aren't a fan of RFK Jr. In one of the thread's top comments, however, u/mishymashyman argued that the commercial's appropriation of a vintage advertisement undermines RFK Jr.'s desired public image as an innovator.

RFK Jr.'s campaign may have generated plenty of discussion after the Super Bowl, but a large portion of the discourse wasn't altogether favorable toward his candidacy.