Fans may have lined up to be served hot dogs, chicken tenders, nachos, and more at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. However, Mike Tyson had a different message: eat something healthier. And the former heavyweight champion is grateful for the opportunity to be able to deliver that message with his role in the MAHA Super Bowl LX ad. 

‘Iron Mike’ starred in a 30-second Super Bowl ad from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Center, which is an advocacy group aligned with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Human Services Secretary. The ad encourages people to make healthier eating decisions while warning about the potential consequences of consuming “processed foods.” 

“Grateful to MAHA @WhiteHouse and @SecKennedy for letting me be part of this great movement,” Tyson wrote on X while sharing a banner for the ad campaign. “Here’s to a healthier future.” Notably, within the ad, Tyson recalls his personal struggle with weight, revealing he once weighed 345 pounds, having eaten “a quart of ice cream every hour.”

He even reflected on how his late sister, Denise, who passed away in 1991 due to a heart attack linked to obesity. The ad itself ends with Mike Tyson and his son taking a bite out of an apple before RealFood[dot]gov, a website listing federal dietary guidelines released in January, flashes on the screen.  

The campaign was reportedly funded via donations the MAHA Center collected from wealthy individuals, according to the group’s leader, Tony Lyons, who supports RFK Jr. Lyons claimed he wanted to create an ad that could rival the likes of Pepsi and Coca-Cola at the Super Bowl. And Mike Tyson appears to be completely behind the ad’s message. 

He previously tweeted, “The most important bite of my life choosing REAL FOOD. See you at the Super Bowl!” while sharing a conversation between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Fox’s Peter Doocy. 

RFK Jr. reveals why he chose Mike Tyson for the campaign

During Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing, Kennedy Jr. was asked why Mike Tyson was specifically chosen even though the former heavyweight champion has a controversial past. RFK Jr. revealed that it was a “really serendipitous” moment, pointing to Tyson’s own journey. 

According to Kennedy, filmmaker Brett Ratner, who helped produce the ad and is a longtime friend of Tyson, emphasized that the biggest fight that he had in his lifetime is his fight with obesity. He further revealed that the ad itself came together within three days.

They initially approached with a scripted ad, but it failed because Tyson just started talking. He added, “It’s an extraordinary, powerful ad,” as he branded childhood obesity “a crisis… that’s existential.” He also noted that “77% of our kids cannot qualify for military service.”

Despite RFK Jr.’s reasoning and Mike Tyson’s involvement, the ad’s blunt approach to awareness may alienate some people. But do you feel that way? What did you think about the ad?