--- description: King's daughter, Bernice King, denied that Dodge had asked the family to use the civil rights icon's voice in a Super Bowl commercial title: Dodge Criticized for Super Bowl Ad Using MLK's Voice image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81c1cc0122217f63/6988fa8acf40a87102c4b30d/gettyimages-95895139.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [super bowl 2018](/tag/super-bowl-2018/) ## super bowl 2018 Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dodge's Super Bowl Ad Using Martin Luther King's Voice Is Not Going Down Well by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:20 PM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2018 3:21 AM CUT  Dodge Ram pickup trucks are offered for sale at a dealership Chicago, Ill. on Jan. 20, 2010. Dodge Ram pickup trucks are offered for sale at a dealership Chicago, Ill. on Jan. 20, 2010.Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:20 PM CUTPublished: Feb 5, 2018 3:21 AM CUT A Dodge commercial aired during the Super Bowl using the voice of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. backfired Sunday, with viewers criticizing the spot on social media and questioning whether King’s family approved of the ad. Dodge used an excerpt from King’s [“Drum Major Instinct”](http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/drum-major-instinct-ebenezer-baptist-church "undefined") sermon, which was originally delivered on Feb. 4, 1968 in Atlanta, Ga., in what was meant to be an inspirational commercial about the power of service, cooperation, and community. > [](https://twitter.com/RamTrucks/status/960313474235621376) Viewers were taken aback. It didn’t take long for social media users to inquire whether King’s family approved of the company appropriating the civil rights leader’s words as a marketing tool. The late Reverend’s youngest daughter, Bernice King, took to Twitter with an unambiguous response: > [](https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/960320718922813440) The King Center also distanced itself from the ad, stating that it is not responsible for approving commercial use of King’s words and images. > [](https://twitter.com/TheKingCenter/status/960328987955335174) Dodge confirmed that the company [“worked closely”](https://slate.com/business/2018/02/the-mlk-estate-approved-that-dodge-ram-super-bowl-ad.html "undefined") with the Martin Luther King, Jr. estate, which manages use of King’s intellectual property, to obtain approval to use the speech, _Slate_ reports. The estate is a [separate entity from the King Center](http://www.thekingcenter.org/contact-us "undefined"), the nonprofit established by the Reverend’s wife, Coretta Scott King. “Estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process,” a Dodge representative said. Here’s how a few viewers reacted to the ad: > [](https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/960316150470074368) > [](https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/960318654947700736) > [](https://twitter.com/lyman%5Fbrian/status/960313807439572992) > [](https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/960378578138484737) > [](https://twitter.com/TheDweck/status/960317679415382019) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5132811/martin-luther-king-dodge-ram-super-bowl-commercial/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5132811/martin-luther-king-dodge-ram-super-bowl-commercial/"},"headline":"Dodge's Super Bowl Ad Using Martin Luther King's Voice Is Not Going Down Well","datePublished":"2018-02-05T03:21:41.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:20:31.000Z","description":"The King Center and the icon's youngest daughter said his family did not give Dodge permission","url":"https://time.com/5132811/martin-luther-king-dodge-ram-super-bowl-commercial/","keywords":["super bowl 2018","martin luther king jr","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81c1cc0122217f63/6988fa8acf40a87102c4b30d/gettyimages-95895139.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81c1cc0122217f63/6988fa8acf40a87102c4b30d/gettyimages-95895139.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chrysler Recalls Over 24,000 Vehicles Over Potential Brake Part Malfunction","caption":"Chrysler Recalls Over 24,000 Vehicles Over Potential Brake Part Malfunction","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/super-bowl-2018/","name":"super bowl 2018"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5132811/martin-luther-king-dodge-ram-super-bowl-commercial/","name":"Dodge's Super Bowl Ad Using Martin Luther King's Voice Is Not Going Down Well"}}]}] ```