The Super Bowl is among the biggest advertising events of the year for food and beverage manufacturers selling everything from mayonnaise to Buffalo chicken wings, but this year was different, due to a 30-second commercial from the Make America Healthy Again movement.
MAHA launched an ad campaign featuring former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson warning football fans of the dangers of processed foods.
The 30-second ad was also the first known effort by MAHA Center Inc., a newly formed nonprofit headed by Tony Lyons, who also serves as president and publisher of Skyhorse Publishing, an independent publishing house in New York City.
MAHA Center could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lyons also served as chairman of a super political action committee in 2023 that supported Robert F Kennedy Jr’s presidential bid, with Skyhorse donating $150,000, according to the New York Times.
Skyhorse has close ties to HHS Secretary Kennedy, publishing two of his most recent books and another by Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines.
The Kennedy titles include “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health” in 2021 and “A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals” in 2022.
Tyson’s plea for healthy eating
The Super Bowl commercial features a black-and-white closeup shot of Tyson, who explains that his sister died of a heart attack at the age of 25 due to obesity.
Tyson, who served three years in prison after being convicted of rape in 1992, shares in the commercial that he, too, struggled with weight. “I was so fat and nasty, I would eat anything,” Tyson said in the commercial, adding, “I had so much self-hate when I was like that – I just wanted to kill myself.”
The boxer’s approach raised concerns from nutrition experts and others, such as Lindsey Smith Taillie, an associate professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, who told the New York Times that shaming can be counterproductive.
“It certainly isn’t an effective strategy for promoting better eating, individual shame,” she said.
The ad continues with Tyson eating an apple and carrot and noting, “We’re the most powerful country in the world, and we have the most obese, fudgy people.”
Following a chuckle, Tyson adds, “Something has to be done about processed food in this country.” A message superimposed over Tyson’s face reads: “Processed Food Kills.”
The commercial closes with the message “Eat Real Food” and directs viewers to the government website RealFood.gov.
Kennedy shared the Super Bowl ad – estimated to cost $8 million – on his X.com account, calling it “the most important message in Super Bowl history.”
“We don’t have to be the sickest country in the developed world,” Kennedy said in the social media post. “The answer is simple: EAT REAL FOOD.”
What is MAHA Center?
The ad was a debut of sorts for MAHA Center Inc., which announced itself in small type at the bottom of the screen, noting that the group paid for the commercial.
Lyons told the New York Times that “billionaires and other donors” contributed money to pay the cost of the commercial, but declined to name them.
The nonprofit identifies itself as a 501(c)(3) educational organization on mahacenter.org, where the group states its mission of “Advancing the Health & Well-Being of Americans.”
“America is sick. The data is clear,” the website notes. “Chronic disease has become an epidemic affecting millions of American families. Understanding the scope of this crisis is the first step toward solving it.”
Citing reports from the Centers for Disease Control, the website explains that half of Americans have diabetes or prediabetes; 40% of American adults and 20% of children are obese; and Type 2 diabetes in youth has grown by 95% since 2001.
MAHA Center's pillars of tranformation
MAHA Center names “Five Pillars of Transformation” on its website that include:
- "Educate - "Informing Americans about the true drivers of health and disease. We provide accessible, evidence-based information that cuts through confusion and empowers Americans to understand what’s actually driving poor health outcomes."
- Examine - "Investigate where our health systems have failed. We critically examine the institutions, incentives, and policies that shape American health, identifying where the current system has failed and why."
- Innovate - "Championing new approaches to health and wellness. We seek out researchers, clinicians, and communities pioneering approaches that address root causes rather than just managing symptoms."
- Promote - "Scaling models that work. We identify proven models and advocate for their broader adoption, ensuring that effective solutions reach the people who need them."
- Empower - "Giving Americans the tools to take control. We equip Americans with practical resources to navigate a complex health landscape and make decisions that transform their own health."
“We believe the path forward begins with truth, education and a willingness to challenge the systems that have failed us,” the website notes. “The MAHA Center exists to ask hard questions, elevate real solutions and empower Americans to take control of their health.”
The website also features a sign-up page that includes a section titled “Tell Us What Matters to You” and offers a range of options, including categories such as Food Dyes, Farming Reform, Overmedicalization and Children’s Health, School Nutrition, and Vaccine Reform, among others.
Who is MAHA Center President Tony Lyons?
Lyons is no stranger to the public spotlight as head of Skyhorse Publishing, which has published more than 7,000 titles.
The MAHA Center and Lyons’ publishing company appear intertwined, as both the business and nonprofit share the same address in Manhattan’s Garment District (307 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018).
“Skyhorse is dedicated to publishing books that make people’s lives better, whether that means teaching them a hobby, bringing them a unique and important story, or encouraging them to fight against injustices, conspiracies, or abuses of power, maintains a firm stance against censorship, and aims to break down the increasingly extreme echo chambers in mainstream media,” Skyhorse explains on its LinkedIn profile.
Lyons and the publishing house have been criticized for many of its titles and controversial authors, such as Woody Allen, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, Allen Dershowitz, Roger Stone and Michael Cohen.
Vanity Fair magazine published an exposé on Skyhorse in 2020 titled “Skyhorse Publishing’s House of Horrors,” which chronicles the publishing company’s focus on books involving conspiracy theories.
“We believe in free speech, take a strong stance against cancel culture, and live by the rule that it’s important to err on the side of letting even unpopular voices be heard,” he told Vanity Fair.
Lights, camera, MAHA
The commercial was directed by Brett Ratner, whose work includes the Rush Hour franchise, X-Men: The Last Stand and, most recently, the documentary, Melania, about First-Lady Melania Trump.
Ratner was also an executive producer of the 2011 PBS series Woody Allen: A Documentary.
Ratner also made headlines for appearing repeatedly in the recently released trove of US Department of Justice files related to the late financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Ratner has not been accused of wrongdoing, but has faced questions from reporters, particularly due to a photo of him and Epstein cuddling on a couch with two females whose faces are redacted.
He has denied having a relationship with Epstein and recently told Fox News Digital that the woman in the picture is his former fiancée.
Ratner said in an Instagram post that it was an honor directing the public service announcement, and working with its creator, Peter Arnell, a design and branding executive. Arnell has created ad campaigns for some of the biggest corporations in the world, including food and beverage brands such as Nespresso and Pepsi.
“A first working with the creative genius of Peter and with my friend of 40 years @MikeTyson. A subject very close to my heart and a goal I need to start living by,” Ratner wrote, adding, “Gratitude to @SecKennedy for prioritizing our country’s disease epidemic and how real food is a big part of the solution. Our nation’s health is our real wealth. PROCESSED FOOD KILLS. EAT REAL FOOD.”
