A Dodge Ram truck ad that aired during the Super Bow LIIl received immediate backlash Sunday for the use of a Martin Luther King, Jr. speech.
The ad used a track from one King’s final sermons, “The Drum Major Instinct,” delivered exactly 50 years ago from Super Bowl Sunday. The sermon was used as a voiceover as different people performed acts of service. The clip was meant to showcase the company’s volunteer program.
But many on Twitter were not here for it:
According to Slate, the King estate approved the audio used in the ad:
“The brand ‘worked closely with the representatives of the Martin Luther King Jr. estate to receive the necessary approvals.'”
But the King Center took to Twitter to clarify that they were not involved in the approval process.
But no matter who approved, it’s clear that using MLK Jr.’s words for the gains of capitalism rubbed many the wrong way.