Halftime in America

"Halftime in America"
Directed by David Gordon Green
Written by Matthew Dickman
Starring Clint Eastwood
Distributed by Chrysler
Release dates
 2012
Running time
 2 minutes 0 seconds
Country United States
Language English

Halftime in America (alternately, It's Halftime in America) is an American television commercial aired in February 2012 during halftime of Super Bowl XLVI. Produced by Portland, Oregon-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy for Chrysler, It features Clint Eastwood speaking, and narrating, an account of the American automobile industry rebounding after the late-2000s recession, as pictures of American workers appear onscreen.[1]

The advertisement, described as "grim" in tone, is a two-minute montage of video scenes showing "ordinary Americans" at first despairing, then in solidarity with another, and finally hopeful. It closes with a close-up of Eastwood's face, and then the “Imported from Detroit" logo first introduced in Chrysler's 2011 Super Bowl advertisement.[2]

Production

The commercial was filmed in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, New Orleans, Louisiana and Northern California, with archival footage from Detroit[3] and Madison, Wisconsin.[4]

Script

The script of this ad was prepared by Kevin Jones, Smith Henderson and Matthew Dickman. It is as follows:

It's halftime. Both teams are in their locker room discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half. It's halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they're hurting. And they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback. And we're all scared, because this isn't a game.

The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again. I've seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn't understand each other. It seems like we've lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that's what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, then we'll make one.

All that matters now is what's ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And, how do we win? Detroit's showing us it can be done. And, what's true about them is true about all of us. This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah, it's halftime America. And, our second half is about to begin.

Public reaction

The commercial became a viral video, and was compared to the 1984 Campaign advertising for Ronald Reagan, Morning in America.[1]

Some American conservatives criticized the commercial as an endorsement of the United States automotive bailout of 2008 and 2009. Republican political consultant Karl Rove, who had been opposed to the automotive bailout,[1] said he was "offended" by it, and called it a sign of Chicago-style politics.[3][5][6][7][8][9]

Additional discussion focused on a short scene in the commercial filmed at an evening protest held by members of a local education union at the Wisconsin State Capitol.[4] For the commercial, video frames were digitally edited to replace pro-union, pro-public education messages on the picket signs, during a segment where Clint Eastwood's “gravely voice intones ‘the fog, division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead.’”[10]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 Marinucci, Carla (February 10, 2012). "Eastwood 'halftime in America' ad inspires debate". San Francisco Chronicle.
  2. ↑ Corliss, Richard (February 7, 2012). "Clint's Chrysler Ad: From the Director of Pineapple Express". Time Magazine.
  3. 1 2 "Halftime in America' ad creates political debate". Associated Press. February 6, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Nichols, John (2012) "Chrysler Super Bowl Ad Edits Out Wisconsin Union Signs." The Nation, February 6, 2012 http://www.thenation.com/blog/166082/chrysler-super-bowl-ad-features-wisconsin-union-rally-edits-out-union-signs
  5. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W.; Rutenberg, Jim (February 7, 2012). "Republicans See Politics In Chrysler Super Bowl Ad". The New York Times. p. A13. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Jeff; Vranica, Suzanne (February 9, 2012). "Corporate News: Super Bowl Ad Goes to OT --- Chrysler, Dealers Deny 'Halftime' Ad Was Political; Furor Draws Web Shoppers". The Wall Street Journal. p. B2.
  7. ↑ Weiner, Rachel (February 6, 2012). "Karl Rove 'offended' by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ Rivoli, Dan (February 6, 2012). "Clint Eastwood Super Bowl Ad is Chrysler's Pay Back for Auto Bailout: Karl Rove". International Business Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ Horsey, David (February 8, 2012). "Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad riles Karl Rove". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ Shaw, Michael (2012) “Reading the Pictures: The Clint Eastwood Chrysler ‘Halftime in America’ Controversy, and the Doctored Wisconsin Footage.” The Huffington Post, February 7, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shaw/chrysler-superbowl-ad_b_1260740.html
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