A 1960 Kennedy campaign ad is rebooted for RFK Jr.
Yes, that catchy jingle you heard on your television just before halftime of the Super Bowl was an ad supporting a Kennedy running for president, and it looked and sounded almost exactly the same as it did in 1960.
A super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential bid. ran the ad, which was essentially a reboot of an ad supporting Mr. Kennedy's uncle John F. Kennedy in his 1960 presidential campaign. It features the same jingle, the same upbeat cartoons interspersed with candid photos of the candidate, showing the candidate's face of the younger Mr. Kennedy have been superimposed.
The PAC, American Values 2024, paid $7 million for the spot, said the PAC's co-founder Tony Lyons. Production took about 36 hours, he said.
Mr. Kennedy is running for president as an independent after quitting the Democratic Party in October, arguing that the Democratic primary system was rigged against him. His candidacy is worrying many Democrats who fear that Mr. Kennedy — an environmental lawyer who has become a prominent purveyor of conspiracy theories — could siphon votes away from President Biden.
The super PAC has increased suspicion about Mr. Kennedy's support. A substantial portion of the PAC's funding, about $15 million, came from Timothy Mellon, a Republican who has also given $10 million to a super PAC supporting former President Donald J. Trump.
Super Bowl ads are often heavily nostalgic: Sunday night commercials feature vintage Volkswagen footage, a “Scrubs” reunion and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Boston.
But the Kennedy ad struck a different tone. While John F. Kennedy was running as a 43-year-old Democrat in 1960, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 70 years old and active as an independent – a self-proclaimed spoiler. (Despite Mr. Kennedy's age, the ad still portrays him as youthful and athletic, including a photo of him on skis.)
Mr. Kennedy has drawn on his storied political family and its legacy during his candidacy. But many of his relatives have denounced him.
In July, the former president's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, posted a video “embarrassing” his uncle's campaign, saying the younger Mr. Kennedy “trades Camelot, celebrity conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame.'
The Super Bowl ad received a mixed reception on the social media platform X. Ben Shapiro, a right-wing writer, called it “shockingly politically astute.”
Robert Shrum, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked with former Senator Edward M. Kennedy, wrote: “This RFK Jr. Super Bowl ad is a straight plagiarism of the 1960 JFK ad. What a fraud – and to quote Lloyd Bentsen with a minor amendment: “Bobby, you're no John Kennedy.” Instead, you are an ally of Trump.”