Food Fight: Mike Tyson's SB60 Spot Stirs the Pot

Industry group blasts message from MAHA Center, which backs RFK Jr.'s dietary guidelines

Folks believing Super Bowl 60 would pass without an advertising controversy can eat their words thanks to the MAHA Center and Mike Tyson. The boxer appears in a :30 from the group aligned with the views of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Speaking in stark terms throughout, Tyson touches on his struggle with excess weight and the death of his sister, whose fatal heart attack at age 25 was linked to obesity. “Something has to be done about processed food,” he says.

The spot ultimately directs viewers to RealFood.gov for information on RFK’s recently revised dietary guidelines.

A trade group whose members will spend millions running ads during the Big Game found the MAHA-Tyson message hard to swallow.

“We are disappointed to see this kind of rhetoric on such an important topic,” Consumer Brands Association CEO Melissa Hockstad, tells Bloomberg. “Americans have access to a wide variety of nutritious and affordable foods and enhancing product transparency,” she says, “which we believe is a much more productive avenue to drive change than seeding fear and misinformation that is in no way based in science.”

Iron Mike’s trademark intensity should keep eyeballs glued to his spiel. The work’s already gaining traction in the press, so it’s mission is likely accomplished before tomorrow’s SB60 telecast begins.

Even so, the approach seems ripe for parody. After baring his soul, Tyson blithely munches fruits and veggies. That juxtaposition feels odd.

The clip was directed by Brett Ratner. Dude lensed the Melania doc and he’s been on the receiving end of sexual assault allegations. Tyson famously did time for rape in the ’90s. So that pairing might not sit well with some.

Perhaps the combo serves as bait for press attention and online commentary. It’s certainly driving coverage and conversation in the run-up to the game.