The Super Bowl is just days away, and while many await the game itself, an even greater number of people will be tuning in for the multi-million dollar commercials that the Super Bowl is known for.
When you think back to your favorite Super Bowl ads, you do so with a smile on your face. You recount commercials with talking babies, dogs who fetch beer and cavemen who don’t understand fire but preach the reliability of FedEx. You likely don’t recount a commercial that brings attention to an issue that affects 20 people every single minute.
That’s because this commercial didn’t exist- until now, that is. Nearly a year after the story broke surrounding the Ray Rice scandal that would plague the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell for months to come, a PSA addressing the widespread issue of domestic abuse has been created to air during the Super Bowl.
NFL provided airtime and production costs for the PSA, which was developed by advertising firm Grey New York for the NFL and No More, a coalition of groups dedicated to standing against domestic violence and sexual assault.
In the ad, a victim of abuse disguises a 9-1-1 call with a pizza order, her script based off of a reportedly true story. The 60-second PSA, which will be cut to a 30-second spot when it airs this Sunday, ends with bold text reading, “When it’s hard to talk, it’s up to us to listen.”
After repeated accusations of, “not doing enough,” the NFL’s support of this PSA is certainly a step in the right direction. We are all well aware of the price of 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl, so for the NFL to provide that shows their dedication to the issue at hand.
Despite the large part the NFL has played in this PSA, I feel it is crucial to disassociate the league from the message the ad conveys. This PSA is not about the NFL, nor is it about those who dominated our news cycle for the past year, as athlete after athlete was called out for violent behavior.
This PSA is about the 10 million men and women who experience domestic violence every single year. It is for the 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men who will experience physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. It is for those that place the 20,000 phone calls domestic violence hotlines worldwide receive on a daily basis. These victims existed long before the Ray Rice scandal broke out, and they will exist long after his scandal dies down.
Issues as pervasive as domestic violence do not go away just because they are no longer an ESPN headline, and while they are certainly not solved by a single PSA, the NFL and No More’s campaign will help bring awareness to an epidemic that continues to plague men and women daily.
Awareness is the first step in solving a problem, so let your new-found awareness be the catalyst for change in your own life. Take the pledge against domestic violence and sexual assault, know the resources available to victims and show your support to those who need it.
And next year, when you recount your favorite commercials from the 2015 Super Bowl, make sure you include this one.