Dodge draws criticism for MLK audio in ad

Civil rights icon’s estate approved use of words

ATLANTA — Danica Kombol viewed Dodge’s Super Bowl ad with a mix of horror and incredulity. Surely an auto company was not using audio of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a commercial for pickup trucks.

“When we were watching it, we were like … no. They couldn’t. They couldn’t. They did,” said Kombol, a social media strategist and CEO of the Everywhere Agency.

The Dodge ad, titled “Built to Serve,” features audio from a fiery, inspiring public oration not long before King was shot to death, along with modern clips of people pitching in to help those in need. The trucks only appear briefly a couple of times, and the message seems to be their highest use is in serving others — transporting relief materials to storm victims, for example.

Although Dodge might have had the best of intentions, the ad was tone deaf, Kombol said.

“Dodge tried to ram MLK’S speech down our throats to sell some trucks,” she said. “They hijacked a civil rights leader’s words for their own purposes.”

Dodge had the proper legal clearance to use the audio and at least some official blessing.

Intellectual Properties Management is the licenser of the King estate. Dexter Scott King is the organization’s CEO and CFO and, as of 2011, Bernice King is the secretary, according to documents on file with the Georgia secretary of state’s office.

Prior to that year, Dexter King also was listed as secretary, documents show.

In a statement to media outlets, managing director Eric Tidwell explained how Dodge obtained the legal OK to use the late King’s voice:

“When Ram approached the King Estate with the idea of featuring Dr. King’s voice in a new ‘Built To Serve’ commercial, we were pleasantly surprised at the existence of the

Ram Nation volunteers and their efforts. We learned that as a volunteer group of Ram owners, they serve others through everything from natural disaster relief, to blood drives, to local community volunteer initiatives. Once the final creative was presented for approval, it was reviewed to ensure it met our standard integrity clearances. We found that the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King’s philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serving others. Thus we decided to be a part of Ram’s ‘Built To Serve’ Super Bowl program.”

Amid the swift social media furor sparked by ad, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change posted a message saying neither the center nor Bernice King, its CEO, are the governing authorities in charge of licensing use of King’s images or words.

Following the Dodge ad, Bernice King posted a link to the entire speech excerpted in the clip and urged people to study the entire text and her father’s nonviolent practices.

“It’s more than a tactic,” she posted.

Although social media was swift to condemn the commercial use of the late King’s voice in a spot for pickup trucks, author and commentator Eric Schiffer, CEO of Reputationmanagementconsultants.com, thinks the buzz surrounding the ad ultimately will benefit Dodge.

“Dodge’s Ram ad with its beautiful, positive message on Super Bowl Sunday aired when America is need of coming together,” he said. “Dodge’s values aligns with MLK’S message, and it didn’t bother MLK’S rights holders who approved the license. The controversy will be a net benefit to the Ram truck’s brand because of the extra attention, especially when the underlying message is an elegantly positive and soulful one.”