As millions of Americans settled in for wings, nachos, and beer, Mike Tyson had a different suggestion: try an apple.
The former heavyweight champion stars in a 30-second Super Bowl ad from the MAHA Center, an advocacy group aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
The spot urges viewers to “eat real food” and warns that “processed food kills,” offering one of the game’s more jarring counter-programming moments.
In the ad, Tyson recounts his own struggles with weight, saying he once reached 345 pounds and consumed “a quart of ice cream every hour.” He also shares that his sister died at 25 after a heart attack linked to obesity.
The spot ends with Tyson and his son eating apples, directing viewers to RealFood.gov, a website outlining new federal dietary guidelines released in January.
The MAHA Center funded the placement through donations from wealthy backers, according to Tony Lyons, the group’s leader and a Kennedy ally. Lyons said the organization approached donors with the goal of creating a campaign that could rival major consumer brands on the Super Bowl stage. Kennedy amplified the effort on social media, calling it “the most important message in Super Bowl history.”
The ad reflects the growing visibility of the MAHA movement, which has focused its messaging on the health risks of ultraprocessed foods, artificial dyes, and other additives.
Public concern about processed foods has proven politically durable. Polling has shown strong bipartisan agreement among parents that highly processed products pose a significant health risk to children, even as other elements of Kennedy’s broader health agenda remain divisive.
Still, nutrition experts have cautioned that the ad’s dramatic tone, and its blunt criticism of obesity, could backfire, according to reporting from The New York Times. The campaign also sidesteps structural realities: ultraprocessed products account for roughly 70% of the U.S. food supply, and their affordability and convenience make them difficult for many households to avoid.
That tension—between a simple message and a complex food system—may ultimately define the ad’s impact. But for at least 30 seconds, the loudest moment of the Super Bowl was Tyson biting into an apple.
Dining and Cooking