--- title: Melania Trump Starred in 2005 Aflac Commercial Youtube Video description: President Donald Trump bragged about Melania Trump starring in an Aflac in 2005 canonical: https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-01T16:26:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:16.485Z og:title: Donald Trump Just Bragged About the Time Melania Starred in an Aflac Ad. Here It Is og:description: It costars a mad scientist and a duck og:url: https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt602a74fc15629544/6988f9e422fb857263e24890/melania-trump-military-flights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump Arrives In Florida For Weekend At Mar-A-Lago Estate og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Just Bragged About the Time Melania Starred in an Aflac Ad. Here It Is twitter:description: It costars a mad scientist and a duck twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt602a74fc15629544/6988f9e422fb857263e24890/melania-trump-military-flights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Just Bragged About the Time Melania Starred in an Aflac Ad. Here It Is > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=601deaf3-a534-48f1-947f-fe99003e7226&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=601deaf3-a534-48f1-947f-fe99003e7226&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=601deaf3-a534-48f1-947f-fe99003e7226&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Feb 1, 2018 4:26 PM UTC  President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump arrive together on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport to spend part of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago resort on March 17, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump arrive together on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport to spend part of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago resort on March 17, 2017 in West Palm Beach, Florida Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Feb 1, 2018 4:26 PM UTC When President Donald Trump met with Aflac employees in the Oval Office to discuss [tax cuts](http://fortune.com/2017/12/20/gop-tax-bill-cuts-start/), he noted that First Lady Melania Trump once starred in a TV ad for their company. “Your chairman I know very well and he’s done a fantastic job,” he said, according to the Columbus (Ga.) [_Ledger-Enquirer_](http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article197602634.html). “He actually a long time ago hired my wife to do a big commercial, an Aflac commercial, and think it was a successful commercial, too.” Because the internet never forgets anything, a copy of the campy 2005 Aflac commercial starring the [future First Lady](http://time.com/5082215/melania-trump-takes-no-action/) and a talking duck can still be seen on YouTube. Titled “The Experiment,” the ad opens on a mad scientist and his assistant scheming to swap the voice of a “lovely woman” (Trump, shown lying on the slab in a high-collared lace gown) for the company’s trademark duck, in order to sell the world on insurance with more “sex appeal.” Trump has no lines in the ad except the end, when she opens her mouth and quacks like the Aflac duck before staring at her newly webbed feet in horror. Melania is not the only Trump to star in TV ads, however. Over the years, Donald Trump has starred in ads for everything from stuffed crust pizza (alongside [former wife Ivana Trump](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvp-XMqnh-g)) to [McDonald’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QNXnNftWk) (alongside Grimace) to his own [Trump board game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbqft9qTLv4) (alongside SNL star Phil Hartman). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Just Bragged About the Time Melania Starred in an Aflac Ad. Here It Is","datePublished":"2018-02-01T16:26:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:16.485Z","description":"President Donald Trump bragged about Melania Trump starring in an Aflac in 2005","url":"https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","viral","White House","Ads","Donald Trump","Melania Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt602a74fc15629544/6988f9e422fb857263e24890/melania-trump-military-flights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt602a74fc15629544/6988f9e422fb857263e24890/melania-trump-military-flights.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Arrives In Florida For Weekend At Mar-A-Lago Estate","caption":"President Trump Arrives In Florida For Weekend At Mar-A-Lago Estate","creditText":"Joe Raedle—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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5128719/melania-trump-aflac-commercial/","name":"Donald Trump Just Bragged About the Time Melania Starred in an Aflac Ad. Here It Is"}}]}] ```