This year, the Super Bowl happened to fall one day before the Iowa caucuses, and Democratic hopeful Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign took full advantage by running a spot that put the topic of gun control front-and-center.
The 60-second ad tells the story of Calandrian Simpson Kemp, a Texas mother who lost her son George to gun violence in 2013 when he was 20 years old. It was produced by Siegel Strategies, a production and branding shop known for creating a host of political ads on gun control and other progressive issues.
Bloomberg’s spot ran at halftime, though Fox decided to isolate it by airing ads for its own programming on either side so Big Game advertisers wouldn’t have to appear in the same commercial break as a politician. (The network did the same for President Donald Trump’s ad).
The former New York City mayor used hundreds of millions of dollars from his personal fortune to self-fund an advertising blitz in DMAs across the country—making his Super Bowl ad, which cost approximately $11.2 million in airtime alone, a drop in the bucket. However, Bloomberg’s lavish spending—which helped attract a handful of ad land heavy-hitters to his campaign—didn’t necessarily translate into positive impressions. His “George” spot was the third-lowest ranked ad of the Super Bowl, according to USA Today’s Ad Meter.
BRAND: Mike Bloomberg for President
AGENCY: Siegel Strategies
QUARTER AIRED: Halftime
SUPER BOWL: LIV
YEAR: 2020
