Many are wont to attribute a political agenda to the Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super Bowl message. I didn’t see it as political at all. As Americans, it seems, we are all ever so eager to attribute everything to a political agenda that we sometimes forget to appreciate the plain old honest, hard working efforts most Americans put forth every day.
Not everything has to be about politics. Not everything has to have an agenda. Why can’t we see this as a simple message about America getting its act together again. It’s motivational. It’s aspirational. Two qualities of key importance to any good ad.
Yes, Chrylser was bailed out. Should they have been? I don’t know. What if they weren’t? A hell of a lot more people would be out of work then are now. There is/was no perfect solution. I am not a fan of bailouts but I am a fan of Americans pulling together to do what needs to be done to succeed. There are no easy answers.
But I saw this Chrysler message as a beautifully motivational piece of creative work that, without too much analysis, said, “We are Americans. We are strong. We are down. But we can get up again just as we have before.” And what’s wrong with a simple message like that?
Everything goes in cycles. Just look at the rise and fall of civilizations and cultures over the last 4,000 years. No one is ever on top forever. We had a good run. Maybe we can continue it. Maybe we can’t. But we should sure try. And that’s all this commercial is encouraging us to do.
