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Lawmakers sound alarmed after online marketplace Temu, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, aired multiple ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Temu, owned by Chinese online retail giant Pinduoduo or PDD Holdings, aired a total of six ads during Super Bowl LVIII coverage from pre-kick through post-game on CBS with the tagline “shop like a billionaire.”
The ad blitz came despite multiple lawmakers calling on the Super Bowl host to pull the ads from the lineup for the big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers over the company’s use of forced labor. The ad touted deals from $0.99 to $9.99, and Temu encouraged viewers to download the app for a chance to win $10 million in giveaways.
“Like TikTok, Temu or any Chinese tech company should give the Communist Party unfettered access to its data. This should be a non-starter for doing business in the United States,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote Monday morning on X. “The @SuperBowl with a CCP-owned commercial @temu airline MUST be a wake -up call for all Americans. Temu is being sued for stealing customer financial information and embedding spyware in their app,” said Florida Republican Party Congresswoman Kat Cammack.
“All that data is owned and controlled by the CCP. Don’t download this app!’ The cost of a 30-second spot during Super Bowl LVIII was approximately $7 million this year. It’s the second year in a row that Temu has run ads during the Super Bowl game since it first hit the U.S. market in 2022. Temu declined to share how many people downloaded the app in the hours after the ad appeared Sunday night, but TV outcomes company EDO ranked it fifth among the top ten ads that generate the greatest online engagement, generating 1,343 percent more engagement than the average Super Bowl ad.
On Friday, Republican Senators Roger Marshall and Mike Braun sent a letter to CBS and its parent company, first obtained by DailyMail.com, calling on the Super Bowl host to withdraw the ad, noting allegations of forced labor. “CBS and Paramount should not be in the business of promoting CCP affiliates that consistently violate U.S. laws, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA),” the lawmakers wrote.
“In addition to Temu’s poor track record, the company’s China-based parent company, Pinduoduo (PDD), was this week named to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets List for the sixth consecutive year,” their letter continued. On Thursday, a group of more than 10 Republican House members also pushed for the ad to be withdrawn.
“While watching the game, keep an eye out for ads from Temu, a company that profits from CCP slave labor,” California Congresswoman Michelle Steel warned Sunday evening. “This company should not be allowed to make a profit by manipulating American consumers.”
Last year, the House Select Committee on Chinese Communist Party released findings from an investigation into fast fashion brands Temu and Shein, with the committee chairman saying Temu “did almost nothing to keep its supply chains free of slave labor.”
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