A truck in Ram's Super Bowl ad. YouTube

Many people on social media are criticizing Ram's Super Bowl ad, which heavily featured part of a speech by the civil-rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.

"Are MLK's words really being used right now to sell cars?" the editor of Wired wrote in a tweet that's going viral.

King delivered the speech the ad uses 50 years ago, on February 4, 1968.



Many people are criticizing Ram's Super Bowl ad, which features part of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

"Are MLK's words really being used right now to sell cars?" Nicholas Thompson, the editor of Wired, wrote in a tweet on Sunday night.

Many others chimed in, saying they felt it was inappropriate for Ram to use an iconic civil-rights speech to sell vehicles.

"At a time when we really need MLK's encouraging words to come together for a greater good, Ram is selling trucks to a hungry-hurting nation. Ugh!!" said another person.

The commercial pulls from King's speech on greatness and service, delivered 50 years ago, on February 4, 1968.

"Recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant - that's a new definition of greatness," King says in a voiceover during the commercial, which depicts fishermen, military, football players, and other workers before cutting to shots of Ram's truck.

"By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great," King continues.

The commercial ends with Ram's tagline, "Built to Serve."

Here's the full commercial:

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