The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate (BSA), the Robert Kraft-backed foundation fighting antisemitism and hate more broadly, is returning to the Super Bowl with a $15 million message squarely focused on standing up to Jewish hate.
The 30-second ad, released on Tuesday (Feb. 3), opens on a teenage boy walking through the hallways of his school as he is bullied by his peers. When he gets to his locker, the boy discovers a sticky note that says “Dirty Jew” stuck to his backpack.
Another boy quickly covers the sticky note with another one—this time a blue square—and tells the boy not to listen to the other kids. “I know how it feels,” he says.
White text appears on the screen: “2 in 3 Jewish teens have experienced antisemitism.” The ad ends with a call to action for viewers to “share the square” to stand up to Jewish hate.
Created by VML and directed by Jake Scott, “Sticky Note” is part of the organization’s flagship #BlueSquare campaign, which encourages people to share the blue square emoji as a signal against hate. There are currently 5 million blue square pins in circulation worldwide, according to the organization.
This is BSA’s third consecutive year advertising during the Super Bowl. Last year, the organization’s ad starred NFL quarterback Tom Brady and rapper Snoop Dogg arguing in a stark room. The message of the ad was broadened to stopping all hate, without a direct mention of antisemitism.
“For the third straight year, the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate is proud to show up on sports’ biggest stage and speak directly to more than 120 million Americans with an urgent message: stand up for each other and stand up to hate wherever you see it,” Kraft said in a statement.
BSA brought back #BlueSquare in October with a $10 million campaign that rebranded the organization from its original name, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
The square represents that while Jews account for only 2% of the U.S. population, they are the target of nearly 70% of faith-based hate crimes in the country, according to the organization’s research. According to a state-by-state assessment conducted by BSA, 58% of American adults believe that antisemitism is not an issue, and only 32% said they would speak up in the face of antisemitism, a decrease from 2023.
