Bruce Springsteen stars in and narrates a two-minute Super Bowl ad called “The Middle” for Jeep.
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Bruce Springsteen encourages Americans to meet “in the middle” during a Super Bowl LV ad for Jeep, his first appearance in an ad.
The iconic musician, known as “The Boss,” stars in and narrates the two-minute stage ad, which features far more American than American landscapes than Jeeps. The only vehicles in the ad are a 1980 Jeep CJ-5 and a 1965 Jeep CJ-5 from Willys. Both models are predecessors to the brand’s current Wrangler SUV.
During “The Middle,” Springsteen talks about a chapel in the center of the country called the US Center Chapel in Lebanon, Kansas. He uses the extremely small chapel as a base to talk about the country that needs to “meet here, in the middle” before the announcement ends with “In the United States of America.” Below is a website and logos for Jeep, which turns 80 years oldth anniversary in 2021.
“It’s no secret … The middle has been a hard place to get to lately. Between red and blue. Between server and citizen. Between our freedom and our fear,” Springsteen says. “Now, fear has never been the best we are. And when it comes to freedom, it’s not owned by the lucky few; it belongs to us all.”
The ad recalls previous announcements of the Super Bowl by Olivier Francois, marketing director of Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler). Specifically, a 2013 Super Bowl ad called “Farmer” featuring the voice of iconic radio station Paul Harvey and another semi-political ad starring Clint Eastwood called “It’s Halftime in America” in 2012. All two were stage and pro-country ads with few real vehicle ads.
“He’s absolutely destined to be a successor,” Francois told CNBC. “This is our style. This is our language. This is our approach to the Super Bowl. We were really trying to get a little bit of what we’ve achieved in these other ads, which is really relevant and meaningful, which will really take advantage. . “
Punctuality and relevance are pillars of Francois ’advertising style. He is also known to have broadcast list A celebrities who are not usually associated with advertising in unconventional ads. Previous Super Bowl announcements have included Detroit rapper Eminem, musician Bob Dylan, as well as a voice-over from Oprah Winfrey. Last year, Francois convinced evasive actor Bill Murray to reprise his role in the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” for a Super Bowl ad.
A company spokeswoman did not say how much the ad cost, including the Springsteen fare, which is not known to appear in ads, but gave its voice to a campaign ad last year by Joe Biden.
Fiat Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois (left) with actor Bill Murray during the filming of the Jeep 2020 Super Bowl commercial.
Fiat Chrysler
Francois said Springsteen was intimately involved in creating the ad and worked closely with director Thom Zimny. He wrote and produced the original score for the ad with another of his frequent collaborators, Ron Aniello.
“Olivier Francois and I have been discussing ideas for the last ten years and when he showed us the outline of‘ The Middle ’, our immediate reaction was,‘ Let’s do it, ’” Springsteen manager Jon Landau said. , in a statement. “Our goal was to do something amazing, relevant, immediate and cunning. I think that’s exactly what Bruce has done with ‘The Middle.'”
The ad was created in collaboration with Michigan-based Doner. The spot was filmed for five days in late January in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.