Amid the usual promotions for beer, fast food and cars, a commercial during Sunday evening’s Super Bowl encouraged the release of hostages taken during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
In the 30-second commercial titled “Bring All Dads Back Home” home, a narrator talked about the importance of fathers as video played of those dads who have been held in captivity for more than 120 days following the terrorist attack against Israel that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead.
The commercials featured video clips of kids with their dads who are now held hostage. It is believed that 136 hostages remain in Hamas captivity but the Israeli government last week announced that about 1 out of 4 are now dead. Likely some of the dads featured are among those murdered while in captivity.
The opening shot was football players running onto a field and then in a locker room waiting to go play, before an actual home video, dated October 6, 1998, started to play of a father and son playing football outdoors together.
“To all the dads. The funny ones. The silly ones. The strong ones. The adventurous ones,” the voice over said as more home video footage played showing different fathers cuddling with their kids, dancing with them and playing with them. “To all the dads held in captivity by Hamas for over 120 days: we vow to bring you home,” it added, as more clips from home movies played. At the end of the clip, the hashtag “BRING ALL DADS BACK HOME” can be read across the screen.
BRING ALL DADS BACK HOME ‼️ pic.twitter.com/6CPd0JE2aq
— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) February 11, 2024
Ahead of the game in Las Vegas between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, the Israeli government also released a 15-second commercial titled “136 Seats” to call attention to the 136 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity following the deadly terrorist attack.
מערך ההסברה הלאומי, באמצעות לפ״מ, העלה במהלך סוף השבוע בארה״ב קמפיין משולב, של פרסומת בטלוויזיות החכמות, שילוט חוצות בערים גדולות ותשדיר רדיו להעלאת המודעות לשחרור החטופים, לקראת הסופרבול.https://t.co/NL7l83iPoR pic.twitter.com/5GfjCkJXZp
— מערך ההסברה הלאומי (@NationalHasbara) February 11, 2024
The clip features footage of empty stadium seats with the words on the screen reading: “136 seats are still available for Sunday’s game. One for each Israeli hostage held captive by Hamas.” At the end of the video, a hashtag in bold letters reads “BringThemHomeNow” as numerous images of those being held by Hamas are displayed cross the screen.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice