February 10, 2012

Chrysler's "Halftime In America" Super Bowl Ad Stirs Political Debate: Conservatives Like Karl Rove Claim Spot Misrepresents Detroit and Rather Explicitly Showcases Support For Auto-Industry Bailout

People rarely pick a fight with Dirty Harry. But Chrysler's "Halftime in America" ad featuring quintessential tough guy Clint Eastwood has generated fierce debate about whether it accurately portrays the country's most economically distressed city or amounts to a campaign ad for President Obama and the auto bailouts. The ad equates Detroit as a model for American recovery as idealistic images of families, middle class workers and factories scroll across the screen, some are saying. "People are out of work and they're hurting," Eastwood says in his trademark gravelly voice. "And they're all wondering what they're gonna do to make a comeback. And we're all scared because this isn't a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now, Motor City is fighting again." Conservatives, including GOP strategist Karl Rove, criticized the ad as a not-so-thinly veiled endorsement of the federal government's auto industry bailouts. Others questioned basing a story of economic resurgence in a city that remains in fiscal disarray, with a $200 million budget deficit and cash flow concerns that have it fending off a state takeover. But is it political? It depends on who you ask. "I can't stop anybody from associating themselves with a message, but it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part," Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne told WJR-AM in Detroit this week. "You know, we're just an ingredient of a big machine here in this country that makes us go on."

The ad follows a highly popular one aired last Super Bowl that featured stark images of hip-hop star Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 through the city streets and introduced the tagline "Imported from Detroit." This time around, the focus was on faces and factories — far less on cars. "It was very powerful, not only for the country but also for Chrysler," Allen Adamson, a managing director at brand consulting firm Landor Associates, said of the ad. "Of all the three, Chrysler was the least likely to survive the storm. And they have come out with potentially the strongest story," he added, reports the news release by AP writer Corey Williams.

Rove told Fox News this week that he was "offended" by Chrysler's ad, saying it amounted to "using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management which has benefitted by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never pay back."