Tag Archives: Chrysler Superbowl commercial

Chrysler Superbowl ad is depressing

7 Feb

Eminem doesn’t make me want to buy a new car, but at least he tried
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=SKL254Y_jtc]
Eminem parks a sleek, black Chrysler in front of Detroit’s Fox Theatre, the glowing sign overhead reading, “Keep Detroit Beautiful.” It’s a sad yet wishful plea from a community that’s crashed, burned, and crumbled into an urban farm with abandoned storefronts, foreclosed homes, corruption, and massive unemployment.

Eminem walks through the empty theater that Motown greats once played, hops onstage to stand before a gospel choir, and says, ”This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.”

Come again?

Once a thriving heart of America, Detroit used to pump out big cars, big dreams, high-paying jobs, music, culture, and a strong economy. Dramatic and emblematic as it may be, the two-minute Chrysler Superbowl ad represents an attempt to make up for fuckups past.

Am I happy that one of the most thoughtful Superbowl ads puts Motown on the minds of millions of beer-guzzling Americans (even if just for a Dorito-crunching second)? As a Hardworking Midwesterner who grew up in Michigan with a family history of factory workers, farmers, and the mighty working-class, absolutely.

I’m just not sure if the commercial is going to sell cars.

Or will it? Does this dark, bold statement inspire you to drop $20K? Or does it make you think, “Maybe I should keep my money in the bank and ride my bike more?”

The Chrysler 200 has arrived. Are you going to buy it?

God, I hope so.