Halftime in America
Chrysler2012
Halftime in America is a 2012 two-minute television commercial for Chrysler, created by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland.
The line
Imported from Detroit
Why it works
A lean silhouette walks down a darkened stadium tunnel and Clint Eastwood's rasp begins: "It's halftime in America, too." For two minutes, Wieden+Kennedy Portland's film for Chrysler sets people who are out of work and hurting against a Detroit that almost lost everything and is fighting again, and gives no sign it is selling anything until brand logos close it out. Directed by David Gordon Green, with copy credited to Kevin Jones, Smith Henderson and the poet Matthew Dickman, it ran at halftime of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012. It is studied as the car commercial that walked into an election-year argument: Karl Rove said he was offended by it, Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne insisted it carried no political message, and Chrysler said Eastwood's fee would go to charity. It finished second in YouTube's Ad Blitz vote and was nominated for the 2012 Emmy for Outstanding Commercial.
Techniques
- Transfer Casting the country's hard times as halftime in America, it links the carmaker to Detroit's fight back and to national resolve.
- Pathos Scenes of people out of work and hurting build a mood of hardship and defiance before any brand appears.
- Testimonial and endorsement Clint Eastwood's rasping narration lends a famous, weathered voice to the call for a national comeback.
Sources · 4
- Clint Eastwood, Portland's Wieden+Kennedy score with Chrysler's 'It's Halftime in America'
- Clint Eastwood Super Bowl Ad for Chrysler Was Directed by David Gordon Green, Written by Acclaimed Authors
- M&M's Wins YouTube's Super Bowl Ad Blitz Contest
- It's Halftime In America | Emmy Awards and Nominations
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