Dodge Super Bowl ad using Martin Luther King Jr's speech sparks backlash
Martin Luther King
A Super Bowl ad for Dodge Ram trucks using one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last sermons  drew a backlash on social media and a rebuke from some of the civil rights leader's loved ones while winning support from others.
 The one-minute ad watched by more than 100 million viewers  featured King's famous "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon  he  gave at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta  Georgia  just two months before  he  was assassinated.
The King Center in Altlanta immediately condemned  the ad   asserting in a tweet that neither it nor King's daughter  Bernice King  "is the entity that approves the use of #MLK's words or imagery for use in merchandise  entertainment (movies  music  artwork  etc) or advertisement  including tonight's @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial."
The ad begins with the words "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." and gives the date Feb. 4  1968  day 50 years ago to the day after when King gave his sermon.
In a Twitter post  actress Justine Bateman wrote  "A Martin Luther King Jr speech to sell @Dodge Ram trucks? Totally offensive. #mlk."
"It is 50 years to the day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave such a tremendous speech about the value of service " the company said. "Ram was honored to have the privilege of working with  the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr.  to celebrate those words during the largest TV viewing event annually. We worked closely with the representatives of  the Martin Luther King Jr. estate  to receive the necessary approvals and estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process every step of the way."
"I always wonder at the end of the day do people remember?" he said. "Are they going to remember? 'OK  I remember there was  a Martin Luther King ad   but who was  it  for? I remember there was an ad about first responders  but who was  it  for?'"
[TGT] drew a backlash on social media and a rebuke from some of the civil rights leader's loved ones while winning support from others.
 The one-minute ad watched by more than 100 million viewers  featured King's famous "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon  he  gave at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta  Georgia  just two months before  he  was assassinated.
The King Center in Altlanta immediately condemned   [TGT] asserting in a tweet that neither it nor King's daughter  Bernice King  "is the entity that approves the use of #MLK's words or imagery for use in merchandise  entertainment (movies  music  artwork  etc) or advertisement  including tonight's @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial."
 [TGT]  begins with the words "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." and gives the date Feb. 4  1968  day 50 years ago to the day after when  [TGT]  gave  [TGT]  sermon.
In a Twitter post  actress Justine Bateman wrote  "A Martin Luther King Jr speech to sell @Dodge Ram trucks? Totally offensive. #mlk."
"It is 50 years to the day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave such a tremendous speech about the value of service " the company said. "Ram was honored to have the privilege of working with  the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr.  to celebrate those words during the largest TV viewing event annually. We worked closely with the representatives of  the Martin Luther King Jr. estate  to receive the necessary approvals and estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process every step of the way."
"I always wonder at the end of the day do people remember?" he said. "Are they going to remember? 'OK  I remember there was   [TGT] but who was   [TGT]   for? I remember there was an ad about first responders  but who was  it  for?'"