O'REILLY: "Personal Story Segment" tonight, movie icon Clinton Eastwood
is known to be an independent thinker and hold many traditional values.
So yesterday some were surprised to see Mr. Eastwood in a Chrysler ad
that played during the Super Bowl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EASTWOOD: People are out of work and they are hurting. And they are all
wondering what they are 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.
This country can't be knocked out in one punch. We get right back up
again and when we do, the world is going to hear the roar of our
engines. Yes.
It's halftime, America. And our second half is about to begin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Well, some Republicans did not like that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL ROVE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I was frankly offended by it. I'm a
huge fan of Clinton Eastwood. I thought it was an extremely well-done
ad. But it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago style
politics and the President of the United States and his political
minions are in essence using our tax dollars to buy corporate
advertising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: All right, just moments ago before air time Clinton Eastwood
gave us a statement and I'm going to read it to you.
Quote, "I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys. There's no
spin in that ad. On that I'm certain.
I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant
to be a message just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think
all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was ok. I'm not
supporting any politician.
Chrysler to their credit didn't even have cars in the ad. Anything they
gave me went to charity. And if Obama or any other politician wants to
run with the spirit of the ad I say go for it." Unquote -- Clinton
Eastwood.
All right, now Mr. Paul, I take him at his word that this wasn't an
overt political ad or anything that Clinton Eastwood did for President
Obama. Do you take him at his word?
MIKE PAUL, PUBLIC RELATIONS CONSULTANT: Well, from Clint's perspective?
O'REILLY: Yes.
PAUL: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: No, no, no. He's an honest man. I know this guy for a long
time. He's about as straight shooter as you could possibly get.
PAUL: I agree with you.
O'REILLY: All right, so -- but subliminally Karl Rove and you took it as
a favorable to Obama?
PAUL: Well, that's what advertising is all about.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Well this is a car ad though?
PAUL: Yes. But the reason why ads work is because when we're not
thinking, we're thinking. There's something else happening. It's
branding literally.
O'REILLY: Ok but what grabbed you about the ad that made you think it
was in favor of the President?
PAUL: To me it was a classic thank you ad. Thank you for bailing us out.
Thank you for what you did.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Even though he didn't say anything about bailing out.
PAUL: He didn't have to say so.
O'REILLY: Ok it was you took it as because President Obama put a lot of
stimulus money into Detroit.
PAUL: That's right.
O'REILLY: All right -- that this was a thank you for doing that. Mr.
Shankman.
PETER SHANKMAN, MARKETING CONSULTANT: We were in here a year ago tonight
talking about how Eminem, the Eminem ad that originally started the
"Detroit is on its way back" movement was a political ploy. This was an
ad that followed --
PAUL: This ad is very different --
O'REILLY: Wait, wait, go ahead.
SHANKMAN: This is an ad that followed a year -- a year ago when Detroit
first came up with the ad that Detroit is on its way back buy American
cars. It was a very successful ad. Detroit said let's do it again. And
they used different --
O'REILLY: Well Chrysler say it's not everybody in Detroit.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: All right, but the point is that smart guys like Mr. Paul and
Karl Rove, you would cede that both of them are smart guys.
SHANKMAN: They're very smart guys.
O'REILLY: Ok. All right, they took it -- they took it as a subliminal
political message that the government in Washington, giving taxpayer
money to private industry to keep them from going down, was worthy and
good. That's how they took it.
PAUL: That's right.
SHANKMAN: And -- and you know, that's the beauty of subliminal ads. You
can take it any way you want it. When I started watching it --
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Did you take it that way?
SHANKMAN: -- I started watch it with my father. I turned to my dad and
said is Clint Eastwood announcing he's running for office? That was my
first take is that he was actually doing an ad announcing he's joining
the fray.
O'REILLY: So you -- the stimulus or bailout money didn't enter into your
mind at all.
SHANKMAN: No.
O'REILLY: No.
SHANKMAN: Not at all
O'REILLY: Ok, this is a fascinating discussion.
Ok, so now Eastwood, who I think tried to do a good thing, all right?
Would you both cede that he tried to do a good thing?
PAUL: Yes.
SHANKMAN: Yes.
O'REILLY: He is trying to get Americans saying we're coming back. We're
going to rally around. We've got bad times. We'll work our way out of it
like we've always done.
This guy is getting hammered as an ideologue. He's caught in the
political wars.
So you know, that's why people are cautious about doing any of this
stuff. I don't think that's fair to Eastwood though?
PAUL: But -- but I'm sure also his PR people and his people over all are
saying look, you're going to have to answer some tough questions when
they asked you, you know what is one punch and what's the second punch
going to refer to? Is it a first term? Is it -- is it, how else, what
else doesn't match up with?
O'REILLY: He doesn't -- I know this guy. Believe me. He's not -- he's
not trying to get anybody elected.
PAUL: Well, he didn't write the copy, he didn't write the copy.
O'REILLY: No, he didn't. But he read the copy. And he's a director and
an actor. He knows the words he's saying. And he went over and over and
over. I don't really think it entered into his mind. But I could be
wrong about that.
SHANKMAN: For marketing -- two points. For marketing's perspective any
ad that you do that's different -- ok --
O'REILLY: Yes.
SHANKMAN: -- they didn't show a car, they didn't say what it was for. It
was a you know, a comeback America. Anything you do that's different is
going to get hit and you're going to take some flack of it.
Second point though is at the very end of the ad he talks about when
America gets knocked down they come back -- you know what that reminded
me of? I didn't think Obama. I thought -- I thought President Bush
standing on the -- on 9/11 at the World Trade Center saying they're
going to hear us all pretty soon. That was the first thing I thought of.
O'REILLY: Well it was something of look we all have to rally together.
SHANKMAN: And we're going to come back.
O'REILLY: And by the way it wasn't some kind of context because Clinton
Eastwood had done a movie called "Grand Torino" (ph).
SHANKMAN: Right.
O'REILLY: In Detroit and I think he probably feels bad for the city
which is falling apart.
PAUL: Well the another reason why I think it goes that way is.
O'REILLY: Real quick.
PAUL: Is number one, it's an election year. The incumbent is going to
get the benefit of the doubt. There's certainly some ambiguity there and
that's the reason why there's so much controversy.
O'REILLY: All right, we got Karl Rove coming on tomorrow. We'll ask him
about it.
Gentlemen thanks very much. We appreciate it.
--
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the
21st century."
