PETA: Colin Kaepernick-Inspired Ad Will Not Air In Super Bowl Pre-Game Broadcast
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The animal rights group PETA claimed Friday that a Colin Kaepernick-inspired animated commercial was blocked from airing in Sunday's Super Bowl pre-game broadcast.
In a statement to the San Jose Mercury News, the NFL said the broadcast of the league's championship game strives to avoid advertisements of a political nature.
"The Super Bowl game program is designed for fans to commemorate and celebrate the game, players, teams and the Super Bowl. It's never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement," the NFL said.
However, for what may be the first time, national politics will invade the one of the biggest TV events of the year. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg and President Donald Trump have shelled out millions of dollars to broadcast campaign ads during the game, when nearly 100 million viewers are expected to tune into Fox.
The PETA ad pays homage to the former 49ers quarterback by showing a variety of animals -- from a bee to a bear to a bald eagle --"taking a knee" while the national anthem plays, ending with the message "Respect is the right of every living being. #EndSpeciesism."
"PETA is challenging speciesism, which is a supremacist worldview that allows humans to disrespect other living, feeling beings and to treat their interests as unimportant," said PETA President Ingrid Newkirk in a statement. "Our patriotic Super Bowl spot envisions an America in which no sentient being is oppressed because of how they look, where they were born, who they love, or what species they are. It sends a message of kindness—one that the NFL should embrace, not silence."
