Super Bowl ads put politics in prime time

The Super Bowl ad has been a launching pad for new computers, soft drinks and sports cars, but this year it’s entering a new arena — as a political football.

The biggest American television event of the year has historically been a politics-free zone. This year, however, candidates and coalitions are seeking to use the apolitical event to stir up political controversy. While an attempt by anti-abortion activist and nominal presidential candidate Randall Terry to get a campaign commercial featuring aborted fetuses on NBC’s Chicago station was shot down by the Federal Communications Commission, Terry said other markets would run the ads from him and other anti-abortion candidates. [Terry also has an appeal in the works. See link.] While the FCC decided that a federal law guaranteeing political candidates access to the airwaves doesn’t apply to the Super Bowl, that hasn’t stopped supporters of other causes from targeting the game for their pitches.