Each year, there are various Super Bowl commercials that are not-so-subtle social engineering campaigns leveled at the largest TV audience of the year. With the country fixated on a singular event, there is no better time for an interested party to promote social messaging, but this goes beyond just the commercials to the halftime show itself, which features a crossdresser Bad Bunny, who sings in Spanish and is from the territory of Puerto Rico. Yet there are some silver linings in the messaging this year.
The He Gets Us campaign will return with its best commercial yet, and the first one that has not portrayed Christians as the problem with Christianity. Even better, there is an ad by the Opt Institute which is entitled, “Adoption is an Option.”
The commercial depicts a woman discovering that she is pregnant, which then immediately places her between the social divide of pro-life and pro-abortion. The competing sides are portrayed in black and white, shouting at one another and pressuring the pregnant mother. The words, “the voices of the anger are so loud,” portray both sides of the debate negatively, which includes the pro-lifers shouting “Choose Life!” before pivoting to a “third option.” This third option amongst the difficult decisions is that of adoption, with the slogan Adoption is an Option being the outro of the commercial, promoting a website of the same name.
While the ad somewhat portrays the pro-life cause in a negative light and even suggests that the pregnancy was somehow “unexpected” (as if there was no sex that preceded it), these might be the sacrifices necessary for the appeal of the commercial.
The ad was funded by John Knox Jr., a Republican philanthropist who funds various adoption-related causes, including Opt Institute, I am That Kid, and the National Council for Adoption. Adoption is an Option is his baby. The I am That Kid initiative highlights various athletes and successful people who were adopted as a means to promote adoption. Knox became rich through a career in the insurance industry, eventually selling his company, SureTec, to Markel for $250 million.
In 2021, Knox founded Adoption is an Option which as of their 2024 Form 990 had about $6.5 million in assets. This indicates that he either moved some money or raised substantial funds to afford a Super Bowl spot, of which a 60 second slot would cost roughly $16 million.
The issue of adoption, though presented as a third option, is really part of Choosing Life, so while the commercial presents itself as offering a third way, it is really designed to distinguish adoption in the mind of the viewer from the abortion debate, which is an ideal framing given the cultural support for abortion, especially among women. Hopefully, this advertisement will be effective both for the mothers and for aspiring adoptive parents.
[Editor’s Note: This ad does not appear to have run nationally.]
One Response
This ad is pure brainwashing, because it’s suggesting that a pregnancy happens without a man. And of course the only man in the propaganda flick is the guy on a “pro-life” protest. So it’s again framed as anti-male.
There is absolutely no need for adoption, if a woman doesn’t want a child, because there is a guaranteed second parent, who is legally responsible and in charge for it.