Israel spends $7 million for Super Bowl ad while continuing to bomb Rafah
The Know Collective, an activist group, has created an alternative Super Bowl advertisement depicting the casualties and devastation resulting from Israel's atrocities in Gaza. This response comes after the Israeli government secured a primetime slot during the US Super Bowl to draw attention to the situation of 'captives' in Gaza.
The Know Collective's advertisement carries a message: "To all the dads that have been killed by the [Israeli military] for over 120 days, we vow to bring you justice." Omar Suleiman, President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research in the US, shared this information on X, emphasizing the group's efforts to shed light on the human toll of the conflict. “Here is the #GazasuperBowlAd you should’ve seen”.
One of the advertisements aired during the Super Bowl states, "To all the dads held in captivity by Hamas for over 120 days. We vow to bring you home." The cost of running a single Super Bowl advertisement is approximately $7 million. This is part of a series of ads released by Israel's National Public Diplomacy Directorate leading up to the Super Bowl.
The Half Time stint
Usher delivered a Las Vegas-appropriate set heavy on glitz, choreography and nostalgia as he headlined Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, but it was new music from Beyonce and the Taylor Swift cam that grabbed the most attention.
At one point she delighted the internet by chugging a beer - she clocked in at 6.6 seconds - as the jumbotron documented the party trick.
Shortly thereafter the Beyhive had two brand new songs to listen to, the twangy Texas Hold 'Em and 16 Carriages implied Beyonce's new volume of work might be country-heavy, in a nod to her Texas roots.
The announcement came one week after Swift used the Grammy Awards to promote her forthcoming studio album The Tortured Poets Department, out April 19. America's megastars Beyonce and Swift both had major summer tours last year, boosting local economies at every turn.
'Yeah!'
But while it was Bey and Tay who overshadowed the night, it was Usher who helmed the stage. The slow jam king held his own as he captured the magic of his late-1990s, early-aughts fame with a 13-minute, career-spanning medley including hits like "Love In This Club" and "OMG."
It wasn't his first time at the Super Bowl - Usher appeared as a guest of the Black Eyed Peas in 2011 - but it was the first that he headlined. His show paid homage to Michael Jackson, who with his 1993 set transformed the halftime gig into one of music's most-watched - and most-coveted. At one point Usher donned a single glove, a clear nod to the groundbreaking pop artist.
"Hey Mama, we made it, and now this is for you," he told the camera before launching into the sultry smash Love In This Club. Alicia Keys appeared midway through at a futuristic red piano, playing a few bars of her own hit If I Ain't Got You before removing a cape to reveal her sparkling red catsuit.
Keys and Usher then performed their duet My Boo to the delight of fans and social media. It wouldn't be an Usher show if he didn't eventually lose his shirt, which he dropped for U Got It Bad. That song featured a surprise guest in the form of H.E.R., the enigmatic artist whose sizzling guitar solo was among the show's highlights.
Usher slayed in perhaps the most predictable song of the night, his banger Yeah! which featured appearances from Lil Jon and Ludacris. It was all-in-all a crowning achievement for Usher, who just released a new album, Coming Home, and had talked about his halftime show as marking the transition to the second half of his career.
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