During Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast, a commercial promoting adoption aired amid high-profile advertisements. The one-minute spot, titled “The Girl in the Middle,” was produced by the nonprofit Adoption Is an Option. It portrayed a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, standing between protesters urging abortion on one side and those encouraging parenting on the other. The narrator stated, “They’re telling you you’ve only got two choices. But the truth is, there’s three. Are these options difficult? Of course they are. But you deserve to know adoption is an option.”
The advertisement directed viewers to Adoption.is, a website explaining the adoption process and addressing common misconceptions. The commercial generated significant online reaction. Activist Riley Gaines praised it as “worth every penny spent.” Adoptees and birth mothers also responded, sharing personal experiences and gratitude for the message.
Author and adoptee Trisha White Priebe said she hoped the ad reached women feeling alone, writing, “That somewhere, a woman with a racing heart and an uncertain future feels less alone than she did five minutes before [the commercial aired].” NBC reported Super Bowl ads averaged $8 million per 30-second spot.
