Companies That Promote Civil Rights in Super Bowl Ads Viewed Favorably By Most Americans — But Not Republicans

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According to a new poll, a solid majority of Americans would view companies that promote civil rights in Super Bowl ads more favorably — but Republicans are much less likely to feel the same.

The Morning Consult poll, released this week, asked respondents to say whether they would view companies more favorably or less favorably based on the themes of their Super Bowl ads. They polled on 18 different potential themes, and the results were mostly predictable.

There were partisan divides on issues like abortion rights and gun control, and general agreement on things like “Calls for national unity” or “Thanking health care workers and essential workers for their COVID-19 response,” although Republicans were significantly less enthusiastic about the unity than Democrats or Independents.

But when respondents were asked “Would you have a more or less favorable opinion of a company that advocates or supports [civil rights] during a Super Bowl advertisement?”, the result was that a hefty majority overall — 56 percent — say they would view those companies more favorably, versus 24 percent who would view them less favorably, for a spread of plus 32 points. That includes 75 percent to 12 percent among Democrats and 50 percent to 24 percent among Independents.

But among Republicans, just 37 percent say they would view companies that promote civil rights more favorably, while 42 percent say they’d view them less favorably — a spread of minus 5 points. Hostility toward civil rights-themed Super Bowl ads was even higher among Trump 2020 voters at 32 percent favorable and 50 percent unfavorable.

The good news for pro-civil rights companies is that the fans who will be paying the most attention to the ads are overwhelmingly supportive of such messages. Among people who say they’re watching the game just for the ads, a whopping 72 percent say they’d view the companies more favorably, versus just 18 percent unfavorable.