A 30-second Kennedy ad clashes with a decades-long family legacy

A cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bobby Shriver, noted that the ad contained images of his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of both the candidate's father and the president, both of whom were assassinated. “She would be shocked by his deadly views on health care,” Mr. Shriver wrote on X. “Respect for science, vaccines and health care equity were in her DNA.”

Mr. Kennedy apologized on X “if the Super Bowl ad hurt anyone in my family.” He claimed the ad was created by an independent political action committee that supported his campaign without his involvement or approval of his campaign. Still, he posted a link to the ad at the top of his X-feed, which has 2.7 million followers.

As much as the ad may have riled up those in the Kennedy world, the actual political impact of the ad, which cost $7 million during the Super Bowl, is far from clear. “The Kennedys have long since been absorbed into history, legend, lore and mythology,” said Evan Thomas, a historian and biographer of Mr. Kennedy's father. “People hardly remember World War II or the Vietnam War. One of the reasons for my mixed opinions is that it put me off, but also that most people are barely old enough to remember it.”

That said, Mr Kennedy has polled in double figures in many polls, thanks in no small part to name recognition, political analysts say. And Mr. Kennedy would certainly benefit from being seen as the newest member of this family of Democrats who want to serve the nation.

Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant and former adviser to Edward M. Kennedy, the former senator, said the new ad, which he called distasteful, was particularly offensive because the original had become part of Kennedy lore. It marked a turning point in the way political advertising was made.