CNN
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The US Secret Service tapped blockbuster film director Michael Bay to create a recruitment ad that is expected to be announced at the stadium on Super Bowl Sunday.
According to two sources familiar with the project, the ad costs an estimated $2 million to be produced by the Secret Service. This is a huge priced price that comes amid major budget cuts and layoffs at other government agencies.
One source said the estimated $2 million budget is about twice as much as previously spent on Secret Service recruitment ads.
Sources close to the NFL say the ad is expected to air at a pre-game show at Jumbotron inside New Orleans Superdome Stadium. Advertising times are donated, so the Secret Service does not have to pay any additional fees. Super Bowl Sunday ad purchases usually cost millions of dollars, with 30-second ads airing up to $8 million on television this year.
Secret Services have low morale, burnout, staffing and retention issues, so advertising recruitment objectives come at a critical time. Advertising thrusts showcase the role of secret services in protecting country leaders, and the very games the audience attends are secured by agents. It points out that.
Through a spokesman, Secret Service Director Sean Curran told CNN, “With leveraging one of the most well-known directors, we will create male and female representatives behind the Secret Service within nine days, and we will be releasing the team. Identifies novel and useful approaches.” Compliance with the required rules. ”
“As a director, my focus is always on leaning towards meeting the needs of our workforce,” Curran said through a spokesman.
The news of the ad appeared days after Bay, the Hollywood action director behind the “Transformers” film and “Pearl Harbor.” . Sources familiar with the project said Bay was filming recruitment ads on site.
It includes images of Secret Service agents and former presidents, including historical footage of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, according to sources familiar with the ads. It is also expected that there will be an image of Trump from the day of last year’s assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania. However, it is not clear what the final edit will be.
“I came up with the PSA concept that America was founded on the idea of freedom,” Bay told CNN in a statement. “Through our short but powerful history as Americans, we have always been moving forward when we needed it. This was a place to celebrate the true quiet heroes who protect our democratic leaders.”
Trump will be in the game and will probably be on the scene when the ads are aired in the stadium. Earlier this week, White House officials told CNN that the president is expected to be in the game.
The Secret Service ad, which airs on Super Bowl Sunday, comes days after the previous and subsequent negotiations between the agency, Bay and the NFL.
CNN first learned last week that the ads will be airing on Jumbotron inside the stadium during games. However, by Friday afternoon (just two days before the match), sources close to the league said that the ads would not be aired on CNN. Sources said the Secret Service had made the request too late and programming on Jumbotron was already locked.
Less than 24 hours later, CNN learned that the NFL had found space to air advertising before games. The NFL declined to comment.
There was also a conversation on Fox about the possibility of a TV commercial, adding that the ad space was donated to the Secret Service.
The Secret Service has owned the ad for five years and plans to use it on social media to drive future adoption for years to come.
This spot was gathered within less than two weeks. This is a quick timeline for busy Hollywood batsmen like Bay, and is usually a slow-moving government agency. It shows the importance of advertising for the Secret Service.
CNN has submitted a Freedom of Information Act Records request to determine the actual cost and budget for the advertising campaign.
The game’s security footprint will be huge and tight. There are several well-known leaders out there who have surpassed Trump. The city of New Orleans is still upset from the New Year terrorist attack that killed 14 people.
