2/7/11
I’d like to say that the Chrysler ad (almost mini-documentary about Detroit, really) that ran during the Super Bowl was the best ad that ran during the game, but that would be saying that the aforementioned ad merely stepped over a bar that happened to be rolling around on the ground only because there was not an indent into which it could fall. So I will say that the Chrysler ad was one of the best five or so commercials I have ever seen in my life. It was simply GREAT: awe inspiring, tear jerking, get up and cheer, let’s show ‘em what were made of, we can do what no one says we can do GREAT. And I say this despite the almost indetectible slap the ad made at the greatest city on earth.
Perhaps my enthusiasm for the ad had more to do with my affection for Detroit and the role it played in our nation’s achieving the greatness that it has since flushed down the sewer. But one did not have to be an enthusiast for Detroit to experience a flash of emotion for the paean the ad comprised for the industrial might that our country once displayed and may (but probably doesn’t) have a chance at recovering. Further, this ad was the greatest of a series of quite good Chrysler ads of late (“We are what we make.”), though I still haven’t decided what I think about the ad in which George Washington charges the British line in a hemi-equipped Challenger.
Despite the Detroit ad’s greatness, it did have two downsides. First, it was narrated by a young man with whom I was at first impressed, especially at the end in which he joined a choir on a very old and somewhat ornate stage, until my daughters informed me that this young man was none other than Eminem, a practitioner of the “art” of rap, a form of music emblematic of the decline of our society that the commercial argues can somehow be countered. At least the young man has some pride in the city whence he came, though, and is willing to show it, so he deserves some credit for that.
Second, the car featured at the very end of the ad, the Chrysler 200, is a mediocre entry for which no manual transmission is available, so it will be nearly impossible for me to act on my enthusiasm for the ad. Now, if the ad had featured the new Chrysler 300 and some day I were to get over my obsession with manual transmissions, then I might conceivably be able to tangibly act on my enthusiasm for the ad. But two points need making: First, Chrysler is trying to sell cars to millions of people, not to me and to those with my peculiar tastes in automotive transportation. Second, Chrysler is wise, at least for the time being, to emphasize its heritage, rather than its product line, in its ads.
I can’t wait to see this ad again; I’d hate to think it was a one-off for the Super Bowl.
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6 comments:
Two things. You obviously missed the E*Trade baby being measured for an Italian suit, and Emminem is one of the more creative artists of the last decade or so. Sinatra is dead. Get over it.
I’ve never like the E-trade babies since the first commercial with those kids a few years ago that featured one of them throwing up. Kids are cute, but not when they’re puking. So that set the tone for me on the e-babies. Further, I generally don’t like ads that feature overly precocious children straightening out their parents; I get enough of that at home. And, not to get too serious about this, but the whole idea of these commercials; i.e., that using E-trade will make Warren Buffetts of us all and, in that particular ad (i.e., the one in which the kid is being fitted for the suit), that, had one been investing through E-trade one would have missed the travails of 2008, is grossly irresponsible. It sort of makes me want to imitate the original E-Trade baby and regurgitate.
I don’t doubt that Eminem is one of the most creative artists of the last decade, but that says much more about the last decade than it does about Eminem.
Sinatra dead? The hell you say! He will live on forever in the hearts of those of us who like real music!
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Kids puking not funny? Sir, you have maligned the entire raison d'etre for decades of "America's Funniest Home Videos." Next thing you'll be saying is that a soda can in the crotch does not live up to your peculiar standards of humor. I have no choice but to challenge you to cream pie fight in the Naperville town square. (Also give Marshall Mathers another look. Like Sinatra, behind all the macho bravado that often makes him appear to be an insensitive thug is a talented guy)
2/9/11
If I were given to the trite lingo of texting world, I would write something like “LOL.” Since I am not, I will simply say that I love your comment and appreciate your reading my blog and your sense of humor and irony, which I suspect is not much different from mine.
Marshall Mathers? Now I know why he calls himself “Eminem”! (Come to think of it, his use of an altered moniker is one further similarity to Sinatra. Would Frank have gone anywhere as “Al Sinatra”? I guess with his Mob connections, and his voice, it wouldn’t have made much difference, but I digress.) If Marshall were any relation to Jerry, though, I might be more disposed to giving him a try.
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
since you raised the question...From The Detroit Frre Press: "Chrysler is rolling out more broadcast and online "Imported from Detroit" ads, but don't expect Eminem to appear in any more of them. The homegrown Detroit rapper appeared in the kickoff Super Bowl commercial, but there are no plans for him to appear in upcoming spots, company officials said. However, Eminem's music and some elements from the initial commercial will continue to be featured....."The intent was that this was kind of a onetime thing," Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau said of the rapper being in the Super Bowl commercial.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110209/BUSINESS0103/102090342/1001/NLETTER09/No-more-Eminem-in-Chrysler-ads----except-for-his-music
Thanks for the Eminem update; getting him off the ad, even if we have to put up with his music, is progress! But, as our fellow commenter suggests, perhaps I should have a more open mind about Mr. Mathers.
Thanks for reading and commenting; the commercial makes me want to run out and buy a Chrysler, but I'm waiting for a four door with a manual, a la my old PT Cruiser.
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