In case you missed it last night, Dodge (the automobile manufacturer) ran a Super Bowl ad using Martin Luther King’s 1968 sermon “The Drum Major Instinct” to sell trucks.  (The sermon was preached on February 4, 2018).

Here is the ad:

And here are some of the responses:

Please don’t tell me I just watched a Dodge Ram ad using an MLK sermon on service. Please. #superbowl #Mlk

— John Fea (@JohnFea1) February 5, 2018

That MLK excerpt comes from “The Drum Major Instinct” speech, part of which warns against the dangers of unwise consumerism, and ends with King imagining his own funeral. So yeah, that commercial is as crass and gross as you were thinking.

— Joshua D. Rothman (@rothmanistan) February 5, 2018

Neither @TheKingCenter nor @BerniceKing is the entity that approves the use of #MLK’s words or imagery for use in merchandise, entertainment (movies, music, artwork, etc) or advertisement, including tonight’s @Dodge #SuperBowl commercial.

— The King Center (@TheKingCenter) February 5, 2018

I do think that there is a silver-lining in all of this.  More people are listening to this inspiring sermon: