Milo Ventimiglia appears in a new Crock-Pot ad for the Super Bowl, the latest display of solidarity between the “This Is Us” star and the slow-cooker manufacturer responsible for his character’s death.
Clad in Jack’s trademark plaid, Ventimiglia addresses the camera directly in the ad, calling on the audience to “take a deep breath and find the ability to forgive, and remind ourselves, there’s no difference so great that we can’t overcome it.” He then strolls to a Crock-Pot and serves up a bowl of chili.
“This Is Us” is set to air following Super Bowl LII on Sunday, promising to finally reveal how Jack died. Fans already saw in last week’s episode that a faulty Crock-Pot caused the fire that will presumably be his cause of death, and the brand has been on damage control ever since.
“Crock-Pot understands the concerns brought up by the recent episode of ‘This Is Us,’ and we too are heartbroken by the latest development in Jack’s storyline,” the company said in a statement. “However, it is important that our consumers understand and have confidence that all Crock-Pot slow cookers exceed all internal testing protocols and all applicable industry safety standards and regulations as verified by independent third-party testing labs.”
The backlash was severe enough that series creator Dan Fogelman even weighed in on Twitter, attempting to soothe the outrage: “Taking a moment to remind everyone that it was a 20 year old fictional crockpot with an already funky switch? Let’s not just lump all those lovely hardworking crockpots together.”
Milo reminds us to come together for the Big Game. Watch This Is Us on NBC, Sunday, February 4. pic.twitter.com/Iawc1llCWj
— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) February 3, 2018
“This Is Us” will air following the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 10:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. PT.