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State Farm Insurance, who have endorsed Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and have featured him prominently in advertising over the past decade, have released a statement following his recent comments after testing positive for COVID-19.
Rogers only appeared in 1.5% of the nearly 400 State Farm TV ads shown on Sunday during NFL games. Compare that to the two Sundays prior, he appeared in about 25% of all State Farm commercials, according to data from Apex Marketing.
"Our monitoring indicates that this wasn't a planned reduction and more reactionary because there wasn't any new significant ads put in its place," says Apex Marketing president Eric Smallwood.
State Farm released the following statement, according to USA Today:
"Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade.
We don’t support some of the statements that he has made, but we respect his right to have his own personal point of view. We recognize our customers, employees, agents and brand ambassadors come from all walks of life, with differing viewpoints on many issues. Our mission at State Farm is to support safer, stronger communities. To that end, we encourage vaccinations, but respect everyone’s right to make a choice based on their personal circumstances."
Rodgers has been criticized for misleading others on his vaccination status and for reportedly bypassing NFL protocols for unvaccinated players.
"I realize I'm in the crosshairs of the woke mob right now. So, before my final nail gets put in my cancel culture casket, I think I would like to set the record straight on so many of the blatant lies that are out there about myself," Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show. He blames the media for quoting him as being "immunized."
Prevea Health, a Green Bay-based healthcare company, ended their 9-year partnership with Rodgers on Saturday. He was forced to sit out Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Packers 13-7.
Source: CNN Business