The Super Bowl ad on antisemitism hits its target
Call it the “spot heard ‘round the world.”
The release of “Sticky Note,” the 30-second Super Bowl ad from Robert Kraft’s anti-bigotry organization, the Blue Square Alliance, has prompted a wave of criticism about the contents of the ad, which calls on people to stand with Jews in the fight against antisemitism.
In the 30-second commercial, titled “Sticky Note,” a teenager is walking down his high school’s halls when someone bumps into him. His classmates start snickering, talking in hushed tones. When the teen reaches his locker, he realizes the person who bumped him left a note reading “Dirty Jew” on his backpack. But suddenly, someone places a blue square over the note, covering it up.
“Do not listen to that,” a Black classmate of the Jewish teen says, before sticking the blue note onto his shirt.
The words, “2 in 3 Jewish teens have experienced antisemitism,” then appear onscreen.
The ad debuts this Sunday during the Big Game, estimated to draw upwards of 120 million viewers, and it’s currently available to watch on YouTube. Since its release online on Tuesday, many Jewish news outlets have weighed in, and the consensus is largely negative. One Jewish opinion writer said that viewers will have a tough time buying into the premise that Jews are weak and powerless and that an ad using the term “dirty Jew,” particularly in today’s climate, could even give antisemites dangerous ideas.
Another Jewish outlet questioned the efficacy of such ads, highlighting how millions upon millions of dollars have been dedicated to combating antisemitism with little to show for it.
But here’s the thing: Jews are not the intended audience. Therefore, perhaps we’re not best equipped to weigh in on whether the ad will have the intended emotional resonance when it airs on February 8.
The ad – part of a $15 million national campaign to raise awareness about antisemitism – was paid for by the Blue Square Alliance, an organization founded by businessman, philanthropist and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is Jewish. Formerly known as the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, the Blue Square Alliance was founded in 2019 and has attempted to promote the blue square as a “universal symbol of unity in the fight against hate.” The blue square symbol was introduced in 2023 as part of what the organization describes as its “flagship campaign, #StandUptoJewish Hate.”
“The blue square is effectively our powerful symbol that we are investing in,” Adam Katz, president of Blue Square Alliance, told me in an interview several months ago.
Katz has served as president of the Blue Square Alliance since March 2025. Before taking the helm of Blue Square Alliance, Katz worked for 15 years in the private sector, including as Wayfair’s global head of physical stores.
I spoke with Katz by phone shortly after his hiring. In our conversation, he was clear: While there are plenty of excellent organizations that are effectively engaging and activating Jewish audiences, the Blue Square Alliance—which has previously aired commercials during the 2024 and 2025 Super Bowl broadcasts—was trying to have as broad a reach as possible.
“Really, really important for our work is reaching this unengaged audience,” Katz, 39 and the father of two, told me. “[The question is] ‘How do we find the right way to activate this community and build allyship?’ Everything that the other Jewish organizations are doing is fantastic, and we think it’s great because this is an ‘and’ not an ‘or.’ What we add to the mix is this bridge-building empathy through education approach that will hopefully mobilize more and more people.
“And, unfortunately, Jewish hate has become normalized for us,” he said. “The goal is to de-normalize Jewish hate and to get people who today are bystanders, to become upstanders, so that when they see something hateful, they say something, they do something, so that that same thing doesn’t repeat itself.”
By that metric, I’d argue that the organization’s latest ad is quite successful.
Watch it here:
