{"id":46968,"date":"2012-02-06T12:36:17","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T17:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=46968"},"modified":"2012-02-06T12:37:33","modified_gmt":"2012-02-06T17:37:33","slug":"chrysler-feeling-lucky-punk-as-eastwood-ad-is-restored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2012\/02\/chrysler-feeling-lucky-punk-as-eastwood-ad-is-restored\/","title":{"rendered":"Chrysler Feeling Lucky (Punk) As Eastwood Ad is Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" ad is returned to Youtube.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Editor’s Note: Check back for more as we update this breaking news story.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Chrysler’s widely-discussed 2-minute Super Bowl ad featuring Clint Eastwood has been restored on Youtube after being pulled down, for a number of hours due to what was described as a “copyright claim” from the NFL.<\/p>\n

The problem is that neither Chrysler nor the NFL — nor Google, which operates the Youtube service — can explain what was, in fact, behind the supposed copyright issue or the temporary blockage of the socially-sensitive spot, dubbed “Halftime in America.” The unusual 2-minute spot, which originally aired at the end of halftime during Super Bowl XLVI, focused on solving the nation\u2019s current problems rather than offering the traditional automotive hard-sell.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Subscribe Now! Free!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“We’re investigating but we have no explanation for why it was taken down” in the first place, Chrysler spokesperson Dianna Guttierez told TheDetroitBureau.com\u00a0 An official with the NFL, meanwhile, said the professional sports league did not have a problem with the ad, hadn’t asked for it to be taken down and has since notified Google there is no dispute that should block the Eastwood spot’s distribution.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Would you really want to tell him "no"?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the spot was temporarily unavailable on the official Chrysler page on Youtube, it was never fully out of reach, with dozens of copies — along with some spoofs and expanded versions — uploaded to the video site.\u00a0 Youtube now shows that in one form or another the Eastwood spot has been seen or shared about 2 million times.<\/p>\n

Following a year after an earlier 2-minute spot that featured rapper Eminem and focused on Detroit\u2019s comeback, the Eastwood commercial triggered massive discussions on social media and a flood of viewers who raced to replay the spot on sites such as YouTube.<\/p>\n

But what caused Chrysler to pull the ad and state that, \u201cThis video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NFL Properties LLC\u201d is unclear.\u00a0 Just before 10 AM Eastern Time, Chrysler issued a media alert advising that it had received reports the link to the commercial \u201cdid not work.\u00a0 Our apologies!\u201d\u00a0 The media advisory included an updated link that allows a journalist to view or download the spot without trouble.\u00a0 (<\/em>Click Here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

No one connected directly with the ad appears to be able to say who is responsible.<\/p>\n

The spot, which opened with Eastwood slowly emerging from the shadows, focuses on what he calls \u201chalftime in America,\u201d the octogenarian actor declaring, \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn\u2019t understand each other. It seems like we\u2019ve lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead.
\nBut after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that\u2019s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can\u2019t find a way, then we\u2019ll make one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chrysler generated plenty of headlines in February 2011 with its Eminem spot, the rapper driving through Detroit in a new Chrysler 200 sedan as a narrator described the city\u2019s tough times and nascent turnaround.\u00a0 The unusual approach, mirrored on a national scale by Eastwood doing his own narration, led CNN Money to declare Chrysler, \u201cthe king of Super Bowl spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

USA Today, which traditionally uses a consumer panel to rate Super Bowl commercials, hinted the Eastwood spot was a smash success \u2013 though it wasn\u2019t officially ranked because Chrysler aired it just before the official end of the game\u2019s halftime show.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, even the competition rallied behind the maker.\u00a0 In an official tweet, Chevrolet said, “Thank you for your trust in America. From the heart of Detroit to your homes, we feel the same way.”<\/p>\n

In an interview with Detroit radio station WJR early Monday morning, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was asked if the Eastwood spot outdid the earlier Eminem commercial, which also ran 2 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t know whether we outdid Eminem,\u201d said Marchionne. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult. \u00a0The message is completely different this time around. It\u2019s very difficult when you work on these things to be objective because the message and the work that we did with Clint Eastwood and with the agency and with our people on this was so, so detailed and so gut-wrenching that it was very difficult to be objective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using Eastwood, known for many years for his work in Italian-made \u201cspaghetti Westerns,\u201d and later in the shoot-\u2018em-up Dirty Harry flicks, Eastwood is a Republican, but the message of his spot has generated some controversy because of the federally funded 2009 Chrysler bailout.\u00a0 For his part, Marchionne said that he knew the automaker would \u201cneed to be careful.\u00a0 But it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marchionne also revealed that the money Eastwood was paid will be donated to charity. The executive did not disclose the fee.<\/p>\n

(For TheDetroitBureau.com\u2019s earlier report on the Chrysler \u2013 Clint Eastwood ad, <\/em>Click Here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chrysler’s widely-discussed 2-minute Super Bowl ad featuring Clint Eastwood has been restored on Youtube after being pulled down, for a number of hours due to what was described as a “copyright claim” from the NFL. Why was it pulled down to begin with? More from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46968"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46968"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=46968"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=46968"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=46968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}