By Peter Pinedo
Washington D.C., Feb 13, 2023 / 09:50 am
A lighthearted Pringles commercial that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday had a surprise, albeit possibly accidental, pro-life message.
The commercial features a grandfather holding up a clear sonogram picture of a baby whose hand is stuck in a Pringles can. The grandfather says “Even your little cousin Timmy” gets his hand stuck when eating Pringles.
The ad begins when a young boy gets his hand stuck in a Pringles can, an all-too-often occurrence given the can’s thin cylindrical design. His grandfather assures him, “Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.”
“It does?” the grandson asks.
The grandfather goes on to explain that it happens to “surgeons, judges, airport ground crew” and finally “even your little cousin Timmy,” whose sonogram image clearly shows a baby with a photoshopped Pringles can around his hand.
The sonogram image prominently featured in the most-watched TV event in America was praised by pro-lifers as bringing attention to the humanity of unborn children, even if it was with a photoshopped Pringles can.
Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review lauded the commercial, thanking Pringles on Twitter and saying, “I’m officially calling it the pro-life Pringles commercial.”
I haven't been watching the Super Bowl, but of course turned it on in time to see a sonogram on a commercial. Thanks @Pringles.
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) February 13, 2023
Terrisa Bukovinac, a pro-life activist and founder of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, responded to the ad, tweeting: “Pringles carrying on the tradition of humanizing preborn babies with a super bowl chip commercial.”
#Pringles carrying on the tradition of humanizing preborn babies with a super bowl chip commercial 🙏🏻
— Terrisa Bukovinac (@Terrisalin) February 13, 2023
Bukovinac’s tweet references a 2016 Super Bowl commercial that featured an ultrasound baby trying to grab a Doritos chip from his or her father’s hand.
Many at the time praised the commercial as having pro-life undertones. NARAL Pro-Choice America further validated those claims by decrying the Doritos commercial for using the “antichoice tactic of humanizing fetuses.”
Whether intentional or not, the humanity of unborn babies can be seen anytime a sonogram or ultrasound image is shown. And Pringles’ commercial put the humanity of unborn children on full display for the Super Bowl’s estimated 115 million viewers.
“Let’s buy Pringles today and write to them to say that it is a thank you for the sonogram Super Bowl cameo,” Lopez said.
