GNC’s Super Bowl ad was nixed by the National Football League because about 3 percent of the company’s products contain two of the league’s banned substances.
Fox, the network airing the game, had previously approved the spot, but the NFL has the final call.
Jeff Hennion, GNC’s vice president of marketing and e-commerce, told Ad Age that his company received word of the NFL’s rejection on Monday, just six days before the Super Bowl. “It was the first time they showed any concern,” he said.
The unaired ad shows demonstrations of strength and people working out in warehouses. The dispute stems from GNC being listed on a memo from the NFL and the players’ union as a “prohibited company” because it has been “associated with the production, manufacture, or distribution of NFL banned substances,” as USA Today noted.
Hennion told ESPN that GNC is looking into legal options and still plans on airing the ad — just not during the Super Bowl.
Photo courtesy GNC
