MORE GUNSMost Super Bowl ads use sometimes funny celebrity cameos or stereotype-pushing gags—or some combination of the two—to flog cars, beer, snack foods, and other products. But during the third quarter of last night’s game, the anti-gun violence organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns ran a 30-second commercial calling on Congress to pass new gun control legislation.
The group, which includes the mayors of more than 800 U.S. cities, is led by New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who also paid for the spot’s placement. However, the ad, which features children’s voices calling for anti-gun legislation interspersed with archival footage of National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre calling for universal background checks on firearm purchases (a position he has since reversed), was seen only by viewers in the Washington television market, for a cost of far less than the $4 million that a 30-second national ad went for during the big game.
Bloomberg’s group has been especially vocal since the mass shooting last December at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. And though the ad’s placement in only the D.C. area was likely targeted at members of Congress, most members were likely at home in their districts last night and therefore missed the commercial.
