RFK Jr. Super PAC Spent Super Cash On The Super Bowl

By Jen Maravegias | TV | February 12, 2024 |

By Jen Maravegias | TV | February 12, 2024 |

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been running a political campaign that nobody wants, least of all his extended family. While mileage may vary on the concept, The Kennedys are the closest thing America has to royalty in the political sphere (actual American royalty: Beyoncé, TSwift, George Clooney, and Captain America’s ass.)

The Kennedy Clan has been on social media, loudly putting distance between themselves and RFK Jr. since he began his anti-vaccine activism and declared himself a third-party spoiler for the 2024 presidential election. Any time RFK Jr.’s name is mentioned in the same paragraph as his father or uncle, the knives come out, and the family comes together to denounce him and his campaign.

They had a lot to complain about during last night’s Super Bowl. With 30-second spots averaging $7 million during the game, the American Values 2024 super PAC splurged on an ad that offended everyone who saw it and may have caused some Kennedys to roll over in their graves. It was a collage of slogans, political jingles, and clips that were almost exact replicas of JFK’s 1960 campaign materials, featuring images of Robert and John F. Kennedy. Living members of The Kennedy/Shriver Family quickly condemned the ad on social media.

RFK Jr. spent a lot of time on mea culpas afterward, blaming the super PAC and election laws that prevent him from being consulted on materials they create. But, the words ring empty when his campaign staffers are praising the ad in the press and the video is pinned at the top of his X feed.

It seems odd that a super PAC that receives a lot of funding from conservative megadonor Timothy Mellon would spend so much money reminding us that RFK Jr. is related to one of the most well-regarded, progressive democrats of our time. For all of the candidate’s talk about being a spoiler for both candidates, this ad is strongly directed at potential Biden voters. It’s also worth noting that the Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC alleging RFK Jr. has been illegally coordinating with this super PAC to gather signatures for his campaign. So this “apology” reeked of bullshit right off the bat.

Advertising firms have projected revenue from political ads will fall somewhere between $10 - $17 billion this election year. Most of that money will be spent on broadcast TV spots, but a lot of it is going to be directed to digital channels. Now that so many networks have opened up their streaming services to ads, there will be no escaping the bombardment of political campaigns or the inevitable backlash/rebuttal cycle on social media this year.