Super Bowl Ads: Best and Worst Ever

THE OLD NORMAL
A year before the NFL lifted its ban on "advocacy ads" during the Super Bowl in 2010, the policy came under fire for selective enforcement that advocates say amounted to antigay discrimination. An NBC affiliate in Los Angeles refused to air a 30-second spot featuring two gay dads and their five children from GetToKnowUsFirst.org, an LGBT advocacy organization created in response to California's passage of Proposition 8, which repealed marriage equality in the state. "We bought ads before, during, and after the Super Bowl in 10 markets across California," said GetToKnowUsFirst project coordinator John Ireland in a statement. "I was truly stunned while watching the programming, to see that they had selectively blocked our ads, while allowing other advocacy ads to air." KNBC, the affiliate that refused the gay parenting ad, did run commercials addressing steroids and smoking during the 2009 game. Watch the ad above, and meet Xavier, Michael, and their family.