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State Farm is not dropping Aaron Rodgers as a pitchman, but the insurance company seemingly cut back on his exposure this past weekend.
The star Packers quarterback is under fire after he tested positive for COVID-19 last week and it was revealed that he was unvaccinated, despite telling the media in August that he had been “immunized.” A conspiracy-theory laden interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” Friday further fanned the flames.
State Farm, one of Rodgers’ most visible endorsements — he’s famously appeared in a number of “discount double check” and “Rodgers rate” commercials over the years — didn’t seem entirely put off the three-time MVP’s marketability.
“Aaron Rodgers has been a great ambassador for our company for much of the past decade,” a State Farm spokesperson told USA Today. “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.”
The statement, worded carefully so as to not offend any constituency, does not mean that the company kept its relationship with Rodgers on cruise control.
Apex Marketing, which tracks the advertising business, found that the proportion of State Farm ads featuring Aaron Rodgers dropped from 25 percent on the previous two NFL Sundays to just 1.5 percent this past Sunday.
This does not appear to have been a coincidence.
“It appears that State Farm has reduced the number of national spots, dropping off considerably as of Friday,” Apex president Eric Smallwood told Action Network. “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.”
At least one other Rodgers partnership has come to an end following his rant. Prevea Health, for whom Rodgers had been a pitchman since 2012, dropped him over the weekend.
Rodgers missed Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs and is slated to return to action next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks provided he tests negative for COVID-19 throughout the week.
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