In the days ahead, similar politically charged queries also are
likely to be raised about the highly regarded Portland Oregon-based ad
agency that produced the spot—Wieden+Kennedy, some of whose key creative
professionals privately supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

VIDEO: The Best (and Worst) Super Bowl Commercials of 2012

Eastwood was the surprise narrator of the spot that aired during Sunday’s
NFL title game, one which both Republican and Democratic politicos have
characterized as subtly echoing some of the incumbent president’s major
reelection campaign themes. Political advertising mavens also have
pointed out that the Chrysler ad’s title and theme—“It’s Halftime in
America”—closely parallels one of the two most famous campaign ads in
history: Ronald Reagan’s famous—and legendarily effective—“It’s Morning
in America” spot.

In an appearance on Fox News Monday, GOP political strategist Karl Rove
charged that, “The leadership of the auto companies feel they need to do
something to repay their political patronage. 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.”

Chrysler Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne, however, insisted to a
Detroit radio station interviewer that the spot had "zero political
content. I think we need to be careful, and God knows, I mean I can't
stop anybody from associating themselves with a message but it was not
intended to be any type of political overture on our part.”

STORY: Clint Eastwood on Chrysler Super Bowl Ad: 'I Am Certainly Not
Affiliated With Mr. Obama'

Similarly, in an email to the New York Times Tuesday, Eastwood wrote,
“The ad doesn’t have a political message. It is about American spirit,
pride and job growth.” (Chrysler paid NBC about $12.8 million to air the
spot; Eastwood will reportedly donate his fees for narrating and briefly
appearing in the ad to charity.)

Wieden+Kennedy, which produced “It’s Halftime in America,” has a
reputation as a highly creative ad agency with a flair for weaving
appealing, socially conscious themes into its clients’ messages. Its
major corporate accounts include Nike, Coca Cola, ESPN, Honda, Old Spice,
Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, Starbucks, Heineken, Dodge and Chrysler
for which it produced a Super Bowl spot last year. The agency currently
is collaborating with former Vice President Al Gore on a project linking
gaming and concern over global warming.

PHOTOS: 10 Entertainers Democrats and Republicans Love to Hate

Several members of the Wieden+Kennedy team that produced the Eastwood
spot were among the creative professionals who privately supported
Obama’s first election campaign. Creative director Aaron Allen, for
example, created a striking poster, called "United the States of
America," on candidate Obama’s behalf. The poster shows an Obama
silhouette bringing together red and blue spheres meant to represent
America’s partisan division. His official bio notes that he “also works
on personal art projects, including a poster for the 2008 Obama campaign
that was shown in several galleries and publications.”

The ad’s art director, Jimm Lasser, created an entire art exhibit in New
York around Nike-style shoes bearing Obama’s image. Another of the
creative directors, Michael Tabtabai has used his Twitter account
recently to send out the message “Obama x Incredible Hulk. America
STRONG!” and linking to an image of an action doll of the president
looking like the comic book super hero.

The Eastwood spot actually was produced by Los Angeles and New York-based
Chelsea Pictures, which selected David Gordon Green, best known for the
comedy film Pineapple Express, to direct the ad.

In the Chrysler ad, the director and star narrates an inspirational
message while images of Detroit assembly lines and ordinary working
Americans roll across the screen. Finally, Eastwood emerges from a gritty
tunnel to speak to the camera in person. “It’s halftime. Both teams are
in their locker rooms discussing what they can do to win this game in the
second half,” Eastwood begins. “It’s halftime in America, too. People are
out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re
gonna do to make a comeback.

ANALYSIS: Was Chrysler's Super Bowl Commercial a Nod to Obama?

“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.” Eastwood also speaks of an America “roaring back.”

Just an hour or so before the spot aired, Obama told a pre-game
interviewer that he “deserves a second term,” in part because his
economic policies have coaxed the country into recovery—a point Democrats
argue was reinforced by the most recent declines in unemployment. The
President made a similar set of points during a recent address in the
Motor City, where his administration’s successful bailouts of Chrysler
and General Motors are highly poplar.

While the background of some of Wieden+Kennedy’s creative team probably
will fuel further conservative suspicions, there’s also some online
evidence suggesting that there was neither consultation nor collaboration
between the agency and the Obama reelection campaign. Following the
president’s Labor Day speech to a Detroit audience, creative director Joe
Staples tweeted, “I think Obama just paraphrased our ad in his Labor Day
speech [from Detroit] Holy crap.”

Sunday, Obama political adviser David Axelrod tweeted that the ad was a
“powerful spot”, but then went on to wonder, “Did Clint shoot that, or
just narrate it?”

Chrysler’s spot, moreover, wasn’t the only Super Bowl ad that seemed to
adopt themes from the Obama reelection campaign’s playbook. GE’s
advertisement showed American workers once more on the assembly line
turning out industrial projects for domestic consumption, something the
president hopes to encourage with his policies. Both ads sounded themes
similar to Obama’s in front of the largest audience ever to watch an
American television broadcast—111.3 million people.

--
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the
21st century."

Academy award-winning actor Clint Eastwood told The Daily Caller that
the Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is “as
good as anybody else” in the race but that he will decide on a
candidate in another month or two after “listening to all that crap on
television.”

TheDC asked Eastwood if he is still “not a fan” of President Barack
Obama — which he stated in 2010 — and for his opinion on GOP
frontrunner Mitt Romney.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t a fan of his, I said I thought he was a pretty
good guy. At least he seems to be — I never met him. I just thought
that we need that a president, in my opinion, needs to spend more time
governing and less time with other things instead of just campaigning,
I guess. But that’s just one opinion and that’s the way I believe it
should be done,” Eastwood told TheDC at the opening of the Warner Bros
theater in the National Museum of American History in Washington
Wednesday.

“Now, whether any of these other guys [Republicans] would be any
better, it’s a coin flip.”

When asked whom he would vote for as a “self-described libertarian,”
Eastwood said, “You want me to go for Ron Paul, is that it?”

“I think he’s nice,” Eastwood replied. “He’s as good as anybody else.
They’re all nice guys. We’ll see what cooks with them.”

Following the interview with TheDC, Eastwood, who served as mayor of
Carmel, Calif., revisited the topic of the GOP presidential race. He
told TheDC, “I’ll answer those other questions later. Give me another
month or two of just listening to all that crap on television.”

Heck if I were running for office I'd want to make one like it though,
"Morning in America." Darn good spot.

Politicos simply cannot let anything *not* be reduced to the procrustean
bed of their Republican-Democratic tunnel vision.

Detroit wants to get out the "buy American" message in the worse way.
Who's to blame them?

--
b...@iphouse.com St. Paul, MN

--
Give it up. The future is progressive.

Fuck The Alamo, Remember What Bush Did

Tom

Tom

--  
"Admittedly, conservatives give as good as they get.  The difference
 between us and [leftists] is that we can argue as well as inveigh.
 They can only hurl invectives." -- Don Feder

Tom

--
Barb

--
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the
21st century."

--
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the
21st century."

Eastwood is a notorious cretin when it comes to Italian things.

Chrysler is owned by Italy's FIAT.

Clinton Eastwood once starred in a horrible Italian movie called Il
buono, il brutto, il cattivo.

That's just Un American.