Earlier today I wrote an article about the NFL refusal to allow the American Veterans group AMVETS.org to publish an advertisement in the Super Bowl program. I received a comment from the NFL after my publishing deadline. I have included the comment below.
The ad featured a military honor guard carrying a flag, a plea for donations to help AMVETS help American veterans (to donate $20, text VETERANS to 444999) and the tag line “#PleaseStand.”
The NFL rejected the ad on the grounds that it was political. The ad is reproduced below, and more details on the matter are available in the earlier story, here.
NFL Comment
I asked the NFL for comment on the story. After the publication deadline, I received the following response from Brian McCarthy, NFL spokesman.
“The Super Bowl game program is designed for fans to commemorate and celebrate the game, players, teams and the Super Bowl. It’s never been a place for advertising that could be considered by some as a political statement. The NFL has long supported the military and veterans and will again salute our service members in the Super Bowl with memorable on-field moments that will be televised as part of the game.”
“A VFW ad was submitted and later approved for a tagline that read: “We Stand for Veterans” and describes the benefits it offers.”
“AMVets submitted an ad last Wednesday with the line “Please Stand” (no hashtag). We looked to work with the organization and asked it to consider other options such as “Please Honor our Veterans.” They chose not to and we asked it to consider using “Please Stand for Our Veterans.” Production was delayed as we awaited an answer. As the program was going to production, the organization asked about including a hashtag and was informed that approval would not be provided in time and was asked to approve the ad without the hashtag. The organization did not respond and the program ultimately went into production to meet deadlines.”
The NFL press office also pointed out that the league does not sell the advertising for the game program. A third-party publisher sells the advertising but the league approves what goes in the program. This is perhaps in response to a statement from the National Commander of AMVETS, Marion Polk, who said that AMVETS had been approached by the NFL and asked to submit an ad for the program.
USA Today reported earlier that the cost of the full page color ad was $30,000. The purpose of the ad was to raise money for veterans, via the text donation instructions above. Supporters of AMVETS hope that the news coverage of the NFL’s rejection generates at least as many donations as they would have received from Super Bowl fans attending the game. For more information about AMVETS and the programs they support, go to AMVETS.org.
