In the middle of the Super Bowl spectacle — surrounded by flashy commercials for trucks, beer, and tech — one unexpected ad quietly cut through the noise with a profoundly different message: adoption is an option.
The one-minute commercial, titled “The Girl in the Middle,” was created by Adoption Is an Option and aired during Sunday’s game. Rather than relying on shock value or celebrity cameos, the ad tells a simple but emotionally charged story. It depicts a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy, standing between two crowds — one urging her to abort, the other pressing her to parent — while a narrator reminds viewers that the conversation is often framed as if there are only two choices.
“They’re telling you you’ve only got two choices,” the narrator says. “But the truth is, there’s three.” As the music swells, the message becomes clear: adoption may be difficult, but women deserve to know it is a real and loving option.
View this post on Instagram
The commercial ends by directing viewers to Adoption.is, a website designed to walk expectant mothers through the adoption process, address common misconceptions, and connect women with agencies and advocates. Almost immediately, the ad ignited a wave of online discussion — much of it deeply personal.
Conservative activist Riley Gaines praised the spot, calling it “worth every penny spent.” But perhaps more powerful were the responses from adoptees and birth mothers themselves. One Instagram commenter wrote, “As an adult adoptee, what a gift adoption has been for me… I’m forever grateful to my birth mother for making this brave choice.” Another woman, who identified herself as a birth mom, shared that watching her son thrive affirmed her decision. “Adoption is not giving up,” she wrote. “It is a sacrificial decision totally motivated by love.”
Author and adoptee Trisha White Priebe echoed that sentiment in her own post, saying she hoped the ad reached at least one woman feeling overwhelmed and alone. “Sometimes the smallest shift in loneliness makes room for hope,” she wrote. “Mothers deserve to know they have options, and children deserve futures shaped by love, stability, and support.”
Ryan Bomberger, himself conceived in rape and later adopted, told Fox News the ad was “awesome” for celebrating what he called the “beauty and self-sacrificial love of adoption.” He noted how rare such messaging is on a stage as massive as the Super Bowl, pointing to data showing that fewer than 2% of women facing unplanned pregnancies choose adoption over abortion. “It’s seldomly chosen,” he said — often not because women reject it, but because they’re never truly informed about it.
That reality makes the ad’s placement all the more striking. NBC reportedly sold Super Bowl ad slots at an average of $8 million per 30 seconds, with some costing more than $10 million. Adoption Is an Option chose to invest in a full minute — not to sell a product, but to offer hope.
For many Christian viewers, the commercial felt like a rare moment of moral clarity amid cultural noise — a reminder that compassion, courage, and love can still find space on even the biggest stages.
Read Previous Post
