Monday morning, NBCU reversed course and said it would pull the ‘insensitive’ ad.
TV has been saturated with political ads in the run-up to Tuesday’s election, but NBC has found itself under fire for airing one in particular: a President Donald Trump campaign spot tying an undocumented immigrant convicted of killing two police officers in 2014 to the caravan of migrants fleeing Central America.
The ad—which CNN refused to air, claiming it was “racist”—was broadcast during Sunday’s mega-hyped Sunday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers.
In the spot, Trump ties Luis Bracamontes, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was convicted of murdering two Sacramento sheriff’s deputies in 2014, to the thousands of migrants in the caravan, even though there is no known connection between the two. “Dangerous illegal criminals like cop killer Luis Bracamontes don’t care about our laws,” the ad said.
After the spot aired, the network faced backlash—including Debra Messing, who stars in NBC’s Will & Grace—for broadcasting it. UPDATE: On Monday morning, NBCUniversal said it would pull the spot after recognizing “the insensitive nature of the ad.”
The 30-second spot was a shorter version of the ad Trump tweeted last week. That longer spot included false claims about Bracamontes, including that Democrats “let him into our country.” There is no evidence that suggests that Democrats allowed Bracamontes to enter the country or stay in the country illegally.
In its own coverage of the original ad, NBC News called the spot “racially divisive” and noted that even some conservatives had called it “racist.”
On Saturday, after Donald Trump Jr. called out CNN for refusing to run the ad, that network’s PR team tweeted that “CNN has made it abundantly clear in its editorial coverage that this ad is racist. When presented with an opportunity to be paid to take a version of this ad, we declined.”
CNN has made it abundantly clear in its editorial coverage that this ad is racist. When presented with an opportunity to be paid to take a version of this ad, we declined. Those are the facts.???? — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 3,2018
NBC, however, not only accepted the ad, but aired it during Sunday Night Football, the No. 1 broadcast program in adults 18-49. This season, in Nielsen’s most current ratings, Sunday Night Football has a 6.3 rating in the demo, and is averaging 18.9 million in total viewers.
Late this morning, a NBCUniversal spokesperson announced that the company was pulling the spot: “After further review we recognize the insensitive nature of the ad and have decided to cease airing it across our properties as soon as possible.”
Last night’s game—only the second career meeting ever between Patriots QB Tom Brady and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers—was expected to draw a higher-than-average rating. NBC Sports convinced Michael Jordan, who hasn’t appeared in any ads or promos since 2015, to participate in a spot hyping the matchup, which blanketed NBCUniversal’s airwaves last week.
The Trump ad sparked a social media backlash soon after it aired. NBC writer-director Judd Apatow, who executive produced the late ‘90s NBC comedy Freaks and Geeks, called it “a low point in the history of @nbc.” And Will & Grace star Messing tweeted, “I am ashamed that my network aired this disgusting racist ad.”
To our @willandgrace fans—I want you to know that I am ashamed that my network aired this disgusting racist ad. It is the antithesis of everything I personally believe in, and what, I believe, our show is all about. @nbc pic.twitter.com/CLinZKHB47 — Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) November 5,2018
It was a low point in the history of @nbc. Who will explain their reasoning for promoting racism during this football game? https://t.co/NU3XnBgsJr — Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) November 5,2018
The spot was cleared by NBC’s standards and practices team prior to its airing during Sunday Night Football. Following last night’s backlash, NBCUniversal reviewed the spot again this morning and made the determination to pull it.
NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino has ties to the Trump administration—in May, Trump named her to serve a two-year term on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition —but the company said that had no impact on its decision to run the ad.
Trump paid for a spot on Sunday Night Football despite frequently criticizing the NFL, and its athletes, for player protests during the national anthem. “As far as the NFL is concerned, I just find it hard to watch, and always will, until they stand for the FLAG!!” he tweeted in September.
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Jason Lynch
@jasonlynch
Jason Lynch is Adweek’s TV/Media Editor, overseeing trends, technology, personalities and programming across broadcast, cable and streaming video. Formerly TV Editor for People magazine, he has been covering the TV and movie industries for two decades.
