With this year’s Super Bowl airing 10 months before the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump’s campaign spent big to boost his re-election prospects with a pair of ads that highlight his accomplishments while in office.
His first ad of the game tells the story of Alice Johnson, a woman who faced life imprisonment for a non-violent drug offense before Trump commuted her sentence, while touting that Trump “got it done” in his pursuit of criminal justice reform. The 30-second spot was produced in-house by the president’s campaign team.
Trump’s other Super Bowl ad went heavy on American symbolism, showing everything from flags to aircraft carriers while promoting the strong economy and low unemployment rates that have continued under his leadership.
The first-quarter spot was isolated by Fox, which aired ads for its own programming on either side of it so Big Game advertisers wouldn’t have to appear in the same commercial break as a politician. (The network did the same for Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg’s ad).
The ad came in last place in USA Today’s Ad Meter ranking.
BRAND: Donald Trump for President
AGENCY: In-house
QUARTER AIRED: Q1
SUPER BOWL: LIV
YEAR: 2020