Cringy Feminist Super Bowl Ad Goes Viral - Social Media Couldn't Help But Ridicule it

Aside from the lackluster showing by the Kansas City Chiefs offense on Sunday, the biggest flop of the Super Bowl might have come courtesy of the NFL itself.

During a two-minute commercial—where just 30 seconds of airtime reportedly started at $7 million, according to USA Today—the league promoted its initiative to make flag football a varsity sport in all 50 states.

It was woke. It leaned heavily into “grrrl-power,” and the social media reaction made it clear that it landed with a louder thud than Patrick Mahomes facing an Eagles pass rush.

For those who missed it—whether they weren’t watching the Super Bowl or had something better to do during that segment of Sunday’s so-called “contest” between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles (a 40-22 blowout that wasn’t even as competitive as the score suggests)—the commercial is available below.

The concept, as advertising industry trade publication Adweek explained, was to parody an ’80s high school comedy and then modernize it to fit the woke, enlightened sensibilities of the present day.

The ad featured several former NFL players. As Adweek noted, among them were ex-NFL kicker and punter Pat McAfee, now an ESPN commentator known for espousing generally ESPN-friendly politics, and former running back Marshawn Lynch—a player unlikely to be favored by supporters of President Donald Trump.

It also included women’s flag football players, one of whom is on the national team, according to Adweek. (Bonus points if any reader was even aware a national flag football team existed.)

However, the biggest issue with the commercial is that it inadvertently highlights the fact that flag football is not “football” in any meaningful sense.

Social media users picked up on this right away:

The ad’s female lead is portrayed as outmaneuvering, outjumping, and outrunning every male on the field—precisely because there’s no physical contact. The essence of football, the battle of strength versus strength, is absent.

Ultimately, the commercial serves as a racially tinged piece of propaganda (the protagonist is black, while most of her male opponents are white) that attempts to convince viewers that flag football deserves as much recognition as the traditional, helmets-and-pads version of the sport. (For context, the WNBA has a more legitimate claim to competing with the NBA—and it still doesn’t. Not even if every team had a Caitlin Clark.)

That’s not to say flag football doesn’t have a place. It’s set to be part of the 2028 Olympics, as CNN reported in 2023.

And why not? While it’ll never replace women’s beach volleyball—nothing will ever replace women’s beach volleyball—it’s at least harmless. Plus, it’s nowhere near as absurd as turning breakdancing into an Olympic event.

The problem with the commercial wasn’t flag football itself, but rather the feminist fantasy it tried to sell—suggesting the sport is on par with real football.

And in that respect, it was a complete failure (though the Saquon Barkley-style leap in the ad surely pleased Eagles fans everywhere).

If not for the Chiefs’ miserable performance, this ad would have been the night’s biggest embarrassment.

But, unfortunately for Kansas City and non-Eagles fans across the country, the Chiefs were on the field—for the entire game.