Charles Langston:Robert Kraft hopes to inspire people to "stand up to hate" with foundation's Super Bowl ad

Robert Kraft's foundation wants people to "stand up to hate" with Super Bowl ad

BOSTON - Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) has a commercial airing during the Super Bowl and it aims to bring awareness to the silence that is taking place when it comes to hate in America.

The commercial features Civil Rights icon Dr. Clarence Jones, who helped draft Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Jones sat down with the Patriots owner for three hours at his home in Boston before shooting the commercial. The two had deep discussions about the important role Jewish people had in the success of the Civil Rights movement.

"See, what you're saying is so important today," said Kraft. "That people have lost the history of the bond of our people."

FCAS President Tara Levine said they chose to run their ad in the Super Bowl because of the rise in antisemitism taking place across the country. At the FCAS command center at Gillette Stadium, they track 300 million social media platforms and sites. They said in the past three months, the number of Google searches for the phrase "kill Jews" has increased by 1,800%.

"We hope the commercial gets Americans to stand up to hate and to no longer be silent," said Levine.

Levine said Jones provides a rich history and authenticity to the ad.

"We were so delighted to be able to feature him in this ad speaking about the importance of standing up to hate but specifically standing up to the silence," said Levine.

Kraft's Super Bowl commercial is a 30-second ad that will run during the first half of the game. Once it airs, the team at the command center will then track the impact that it makes.

"First, we'll be watching the command center to understand what are the conversations, what are the posts," said Levine. "We will also be watching our own site. We want to understand increase in traffic and how many people are requesting blue square pins."

The commercial shot by an ad agency in Los Angeles and cost $7 million.

"They are a Black-owned agency and that was a really important part of us creating this ad in partnership with them and being able to tell this story, this story of Dr. Jones authentically," said Levine.

In:
• Robert Kraft
• Super Bowl LVIII
• Antisemitism

Paul Burton

Paul Burton is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV News.

Twitter