The Secret Service reportedly bought some pricy air time during the Super Bowl—and they used it to feature one of their biggest failures.
The agency tapped action movie director Michael Bay to shoot a $2-million recruitment ad that aired on Super Bowl Sunday, according to two sources who spoke with CNN. The ad was also played before the big game on a jumbotron inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The commercial, which President Donald Trump posted across his social media accounts, included images and footage of assassinated presidents John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, as well as the assassination attempts on then-presidential candidate Trump in July—and another unsuccessful attempt on former President Ronald Reagan’s life in 1981.
The ad also featured clips of the moon landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 9/11.
“We’ve been there for all of it,” a narrator says.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran told CNN through a spokesperson that he “empowered the team to identify a novel and expedient approach that leveraged one of the most recognizable Directors to produce a representation of the men and women behind the Secret Service within nine days while ensuring compliance with requisite rules.”
“As Director, my focus will always be to lean forward to meet the needs of our workforce,” he added.
Last week, blockbuster director Bay was spotted shaking hands with Trump as the president boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
“I came up with the concept for the PSA that America was founded on the idea of freedom,” Bay told CNN in a statement. “Throughout our short but powerful history as Americans, we have always stepped forward in time of need. This was a spot to honor the true silent heroes who protect the leaders of our democracy.”
The $2 million budget is reportedly about double the amount spent on previous Secret Service recruitment ads. However, the ad time is being donated so the agency can avoid paying additional fees.
The Secret Service has been beset by low morale following two assassination attempts on Trump during the presidential campaign last year, resulting in the resignation of former Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Trump became the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Secret Service used the opportunity to highlight how the very event being attended by the audience was secured by the agency.
“Protectors are born. They’re not made,” the ad said. “America’s Secret Service protecting this Super Bowl is asking a few more to step forward.”
