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Decent Quality Since 1847

The Worst Thing About the Best Super Bowl Ad

2/3/2014

6 Comments

 
I was hoping for a good Super Bowl game, and it wasn't, but I at least was at a nice, congenial gathering, so all was well.  That leaves the commercials to comment on.  And I'll just mention one, which (for me) stood out as the best, and probably got the most attention -- that would be Chrysler's ad with, of all, people, Bob Dylan.

Yet good as it was -- and it was terrific --
there was one thing seriously wrong with it.

(By the way, before getting to that, there was something else worth noting.  A very subtle thing in the ad, seemingly innocuous which I suspect slid by most people, but
I think it was there for a very specific purpose.  It's when Dylan is at a book stall, and there are several publications that say "Bob Dylan" on them.  My guess it was there for two similar reasons.  One reasons is that there are probably a lot of people in the viewing audience today who don't have a clue who Bob Dylan is.  It's not like last year when they had Clint Eastwood -- most people would know him instantly, even before his Talking Chair debacle.  Given that there are probably a fair number of people who couldn't tell you who the Vice President is, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a larger number don't know Dylan.  The other reason is that while most people likely do know who Bob Dylan is, there probably are a great many who don't have a clue what in the world he looks like.  He's pretty reclusive after all.  So, those book and magazines covers that said, "Bob Dylan," were likely to tell viewers, "Hey, folks, just letting you know that this guy here is Bob Dylan.")

Okay, that aside, back to the point here:  and that is -- as I said -- much as I liked the ad, there was one thing that bugged me about it.  A lot.  And which ultimately detracts greatly from its effectiveness.  Oddly, it was also one of the more memorable, fun passages.

It's when
Dylan tells the public that it's okay to buy your beer from Germany, and your watches from Switzerland, and you Smartphones from Japan -- just make sure you buy your cars in America.

That's a great, impactful passage.  Wonderfully crafted. 
And it leaps out.  But the thing is, it also wipes out the very point of the ad.  After all, lest we forget:  the very first line is "Is there is anything more American than America?"  This is an ad that, from that very first line, is honing in on your patriotism, pulling at your heart strings for your country, and line after line, it builds on that.  America.  America great, unique, special.  The second line is, "Because you can't import 'original.'  You can't fake 'true cool.'"  Why?  Because this is America.  And image after image after image shown to us is about America -- baseball, farmland, cheerleaders, little kids, people literally wrapping themselves in the American flag, Route 66, America icons like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.  America the Beautiful.  O beautiful for spacious skies.  America!

And then...and then, as the ad builds to its culmination, they tell us -- it's okay to buy German beer, Swiss watches and Japanese technology??  Just make sure you buy cars from Detroit??!

Seriously?  No, seriously, I mean, seriously???  That's the climax of their patriotic message?  Screw the rest of the country, screw the rest of the businesses, industries and workers in America.  But buy cars from Detroit.

If that's the sales pitch they want to make, it's a standout line, no question about it.  And the freedom of choice does mean you can buy the best product wherever in the world it's from.  But when you're grounding your pitch in the middle of a cry for patriotism and how great America and Americans are and weaving the flag with your heartstrings...boy, howdy, it sure leaves a big, gaping, cold hole for me.

Especially considering how the Administration actually bailed out Detroit with the country's money in 2009.

In fact, especially considering that this is the second time Chrysler has been bailed out by the government. The first, of course, being in 1980.

"Screw everyone else, we got ours."

In many ways, it was a wonderful ad.  And it was amazing to see Bob Dylan.  But no matter how good the ad was, no matter who starred in it, that was its message at the end.  Maybe they thought the public would have short memories and forget.  But it's still what they were saying, whether people remember or not.

Mind you, it would be a terrible message to leave even if Detroit hadn't gotten bailed out.  Trying to implore the American audience explicitly through patriotism, waving the American flag high above the American crowd, and crying out to America that there's nothing more American than America -- and then dismissively saying, "But as long as you buy Detroit cars, we don't care one whit if you buy foreign products for everything else."  And make no mistake, that was the message they left us with.

"Screw everyone else, we got ours."

And in the end, that's not American.

No matter how much today's Far Right and Tea Party corporations wants to try to make you think it is. 

6 Comments
Valerie Alexander link
2/3/2014 01:22:21 am

Bob, you really must put this on Huffington Post or Kinja so it can reach a wider audience. I agree with this 1000%, especially with every other commercial being for Budweiser -- an American brand stalwart that has never gotten a bailout (and in my mind, had a better commercial, but I'm a sucker for puppies). By extension, they could have kept going -- get your clothes from Malaysia, get your running shoes from Bangladesh, get your customer service from India…

And thank you for reminding us that "Screw everyone else, we got ours" is not American. It's really been feeling that way for a while.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
2/3/2014 03:11:42 am

Valerie, thank you. Rest assured that I have already posted in on the Huffington Post, sending it in not long after I wrote it here, and it was just published there. I also sent a link for it to my friend at NBC News. I don't think it's anything they'll want to follow-up with, but you never know...

Reply
Hannah Shearer
2/3/2014 03:24:37 am

I noticed that as well. I completely agree.

Reply
Robert Elisberg
2/3/2014 03:57:28 am

Good. Thanks. And just to reiterate and be clear -- I have no problem with a company being snarky and promoting itself at the expensive of others. That business. But when you wrap yourself in the American flag when doing so, and then tell people it's okay to bother other products overseas, *that's* the problem. Made worse when you've received two bailouts...

Reply
Casey McCabe
2/3/2014 04:23:45 am

Isn't everything about this commercial a minor quibble once you get past the fact that Bob Dylan was for sale?

Reply
Robert Elisberg
2/3/2014 04:46:00 am

Casey, While I understand your point, no, I don't agree. I was somewhat sorry to see Bob Dylan in the ad -- but a) it's a thoughtful ad about a larger issue than just cars, and b) the world has long changed where musicians and commercialization shouldn't mix. Bob Dylan lives and works in the commercial world, and though he's held out against being in an ad, he's licensed songs to ads (in fact, his "I Want You" was used in the Super Bowl ad for Chobani Yogurt), he found something he decided to do. Much as it might have been nice if he didn't do it, and I do understand why it bothered people more, for me the corporate rock commercialization train left the station long ago. So, it was surprising, though not earth-shattering. But I think the larger point of the ad, being political and having a foundation, was more than a minor quibble.

Ultimately, of course, most any discussion of anything about any ad does fall into quibble territory...

Reply



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    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.

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