Fox is isolating President Donald Trump’s and Michael Bloomberg’s Super Bowl commercials so other Big Game advertisers won't appear in the same commercial breaks as the politicians, according to sources. Instead, Fox will air promos for its own programming alongside these commercials.
“Fox confirmed with us, before our clients raised any concerns, that the Bloomberg and Trump political ads are isolated from advertisers in anticipation of any issues a brand may have being adjacent and within the same pod,” says a person familiar with conversations. “This means those longer-form ads would be in the same breaks with promo time or non-paid commercial time.”
A Fox spokeswoman did not return requests to comment.
Trump is expected to run his ad earlier in the game, while Bloomberg’s ad is said to be airing during halftime, according to a second person familiar with conversations.
Of course, the game is a moving puzzle in terms of positioning, but it seems like Fox will try to protect Super Bowl advertisers from appearing near these political ads as best as possible.
McCann Worldgroup CEO Harris Diamond first told NBC News that marketers are voicing concerns about what happens if their ad appears after a controversial commercial for Trump or Bloomberg, which could overshadow their efforts.