I don’t watch the Super Bowl – unless it’s the Steelers. I will, however, pull myself away from my reading long enough to watch the commercials. While the majority never fails to disappoint, there are a select few that actually accomplish their goals of selling a product or creating an image. The rest are just exercises in creative futility.
Commercials, I learned long ago, reflect and define our popular culture. In my childhood, it was hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet – the product was right there in every slogan, every shot. Today, the story hides the product. Can you remember what product was being sold when the little boy peed in the pool? Neither can I, but I’ll bet it wasn’t pool chemicals. Cute commercial but a total waste of advertising dollars if you don’t know the product.
Those of us old enough to remember the Marlboro Man understand. That iconic image embodied America in the 50s and 60s. Rough, rugged, handsome and heroic. Every man wanted to be him; every woman wanted to be with him. Forget the fact that he was selling a product that would kill you; we loved the Marlboro Man, and by extension, we loved Marlboro cigarettes.
Today’s advertising makes no attempt to bond the product with the consumer. These ads, in their feeble attempts at story-telling, are as shallow as the culture they represent. Do we really want to party with sexy M&Ms or zip line the canyons of NYC with Jerry Seinfeld (the king of shallow, self-absorbed behavior)? No, but we would still love to ride the range with the Marlboro Man, an icon that hasn’t been seen on television in 40 years.
That ability to create a connection cuts to the heart of Chrysler’s “Half-Time in America” ad, making it the real Super Bowl winner. That mini-movie (it was a two-minute spot) brought people to tears, brought people to their feet cheering. And it left other auto makers asking, “Why didn’t we think of that?”.
As a company, Chrysler epitomizes what has gone wrong in America over the last few years. Broke, down and out, on the verge of losing everything. However, the once-struggling car maker has clawed its way back. Yeah, yeah I know, they got a government bail-out – one that was paid back AHEAD of schedule – but that’s another discussion.
As Chrysler experiences its renaissance, it is determined to bring Detroit with it. During last year’s Super Bowl, we met the real Motor City to the riff of Eminem’s Lose Yourself. Gritty, broken, rusted Detroit. But there were glimmers of hope in art, dance, and sport. This year, Chrysler gave us a new Detroit. Still hurting, but coming back strong, refreshed, and shining.
And damn if they didn’t get an American icon to tell us about it. Clint Eastwood -- the actor whose characters have been as iconic as the original Marlboro Man. Clint Eastwood – the traditional conservative Republican. Without being political, he told us that if Detroit and Chrysler can do it, then by God, the rest of America can too.
And who are you going to believe? Some politician? Or the Marlboro Man?
Right now, I’m ready to buy a Chrysler and drive it to Detroit for a vacation, drink Bud Light and eat Doritos and Twinkies while watching The Voice. (Guess which spots were a hit for me.)
You say, but there wasn’t a Twinkies commercial during the Super Bowl.
I remembered the Twinkies; forgot the product.
I rest my case.
No comments:
Post a Comment