Unsurprisingly, there’s a hell of a lot to unpack after last night’s Super Bowl. Aside from the on-field antics (which were nail-biting to say the least) there was also the usual amount of headline-spinning intrigue playing out off-pitch too.
Usher had his half-time show, Taylor Swift was present to watch her boyfriend Travis Kelce, and of course, there was the usual deluge of upcoming film trailers and quirky commercials. In the latter category was the trailer for the much-hyped Deadpool 3, but it was an commercial featuring Mark Wahlberg that really got the internet talking.
That actor Wahlberg is a man of faith and discipline should come as news to no one. The Hollywood star has previously spoken of the importance God has in his life, adding that it hasn’t proven popular in the film industry. Only last year, Wahlberg said:
“I don’t want to jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith. That’s an even bigger sin.
“You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people. But I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faith and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.”
Yet there were a lot of people confused and even ’embarrassed’ by a commercial featuring Wahlberg that aired at last night’s Super Bowl in Nevada. The 52-year-old joned forces with Jonathan Roumie from TBN’s The Chosen to market Catholic app Hallow.
“God, we take this moment just to give You thanks,” Wahlberg began in the commercial.
What followed was a message on the big screen in the arena reading: “For the first time ever, join over 100 million people in prayer during Super Bowl LVIII.”
In a press release ahead of the commercial’s airing, Hallow co-founder and CEO Alex Jones said: “The goal at Hallow has always been to reach out to as many folks as possible, both those who take their faith seriously and especially those who might have fallen away, and invite them deeper into a relationship with God.
“When we learned about the timing of the Big Game this year, we couldn’t have been more excited to work with Mark and Jonathan to use it as an opportunity to invite millions into prayer.”
As per reports, the Hallow app offers prayer on-the-go, and has proven popular since its launch in 2018.
Yet there were plenty of people online who hit out at the commercial, and Wahlberg’s involvement.
“Congrats to Mark Wahlberg for making sure that Ben Affleck didn’t embarrass Boston the most this Super Bowl,” one person commented.
A second wrote: “Somehow the Mark Wahlberg as is atop my leaderboard of weirdest Super Bowl commercials so far.”
A third added: “Did I just hear Mark Wahlberg say ‘stay prayed up’?”
