Never Back Down's New Ad Stomps on Woke Culture

Photo byPhoto 265471396 | Desantis © Beth Baisch

Never Back Down is investing money into attacking "woke culture."

Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential campaign, has released a new commercial highlighting his sparring with Disney. They're collecting political points on widespread conservative animosity toward "woke ideology."

In this context, "woke ideology" critiques social justice and equality, sometimes painting them as extreme or excessively political. Otherwise, "woke" may mean different things to different people.

Fighting Woke with Money

The seven-figure television ad, which has a fairytale-like aesthetic and runs for 30 seconds, will first air in South Carolina and Iowa.

The advertisement implies DeSantis' "culture wars" are soon coming to other states.

The ad says, "Once upon a time, Disney films were for kids, not secret sexual content," while it shows a clip of a Disneyland worker sporting facial hair and a dress. The ad also criticizes Bud Light and Target. Republicans and DeSantis condemned the collaboration when Bud Light worked with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April.

Last weekend while visiting a bar in Nevada, he joked about not serving Bud Light to customers.

Target, however, removed Pride Month-themed goods after admitting that staff members had received threats.

In the 2024 election cycle, Never Back Down has already spent over $15 million on television ads.

What is "Woke"?

The Republican base has recently used the "woke" culture issue as a rallying cry.

The subject of "woke" culture has also been a contention between DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. During a visit to Iowa in June, Trump declared that he dislikes the term "woke."

"I hear the term 'woke woke woke' — it's just a term they use, half the people can't define it, they don't know what it is," Trump said.

In response to Trump's remark, DeSantis declared that "woke is an existential threat to our society" and described it as an "attack on truth" and a "form of cultural Marxism."

The term woke has been hijacked and transformed into a spat.

Just recently, "woke" meant being "aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues," according to the Mirriam-Webster dictionary.

What do you think about the Super PAC spending millions to hype up culture wars?

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