Was Clint’s half-time Superbowl ad ‘message malfunction’?
The Superbowl, it turns out, was the most watched event in American TV history.
More than 111 million people tuned in to witness the Giants defeat the Patriots, as well as Madonna gyrate in a Roman tunic during the half time show and the rapper MIA flick the middle finger.
When so many American families are huddled in front of the screen questions will be asked. Needless to say the middle finger was inadvertent.
A “digit malfunction”, as opposed to the “wardrobe malfunction” which caused Janet Jackson to flash a boob into America’s living rooms during the 2005 Superbowl.
In both cases the offending malfunction was so swift you had to be glued to your screen in hypnotic concentration to catch it. Thankfully, if you missed it there were dozens of opportunities later in the week to see it again on dozens of news shows, albeit pixilated, to protect innocent American eyes.
Whether on the pitch or during the half time show what happens in the Superbowl doesn’t stay in the Superbowl. From cable TV to the blogosphere tomes are now being written about the anthropology and the methodology of the middle finger in history.
Did you know, for instance, that the ancient Romans were big on flipping the bird? Did Madonna know this when she staged her half time show in 250 AD?
And then of course there are the TV ads, screened during the game. We all know that they are absurdly costly – $3m for a thirty second slot. I am not sure if that has ever translated into washing machines, cars or vitamin supplements sold. But the advertisers must be happy since everyone seems to be chewing over their work.
The commercial that has exercised the political universe here is a two minute slot – presumable airing cost $12m – that features the great Clint Eastwood plugging Chrysler cars.
In a rasp that manages to be almost inaudible and therefore all the more menacing, Clint tells us how it is half time for America and how the country is regrouping to win the game. To be honest I am not sure what this has to do with Chrysler cars in general and my 2002 Chrysler convertible in particular.
The roof leaks, even when it is firmly shut. The car has filled up like a bath tub. The smell is unbearable. My kids refuse to get into it and I can only drive it without being asphyxiated by keeping the roof down in the middle of winter. Sadly Clint addressed none of these issues during his ad.
In fact he said very little about Chrysler cars themselves, which, I am told, have become a lot better since an Italian was put in charge of the company. You may know that America’s car companies have had a dramatic turn around ever since they went bust and almost disappeared after the start of the Great Recession. They had it coming of course.
Chryslers and GMs were not just rickety, cluttering contraptions compared to your average German or Japanese car, they also guzzled herculean amounts of gas, i.e. petrol. Now they are better, cheaper and less gas greedy.
The companies are making more money than they have in decades and, as the administration likes to point out, none of this would have happened if Obama hadn’t poured billions of dollars into the car giants to keep them alive and prevent millions of auto workers from losing their jobs.
This is also true, although it should be pointed out that the first $4bn pumped into Chrysler came from President Bush. The next $8bn were sent by President Obama soon after he took office.
There are four reasons why some Republicans, especially Karl Rove – President Bush’s former election guru – are so upset by the Clint Eastwood ad. Firstly they have a conflicting view of bail-outs.
Officially they are viscerally opposed to them, because they reek of big government intervention in the private market. Privately they acknowledge that some bail-outs have helped the economy.
Secondly Karl Rove hated the ad and said so repeatedly on FOX TV because it is precisely the kind of subliminal message making that he was so good at. Chrysler have been adamant that there was no political intent but no one seems to be listening.
Thirdly, and yes this hurts, Clint Eastwood is a Republican. He is the guy with the shot gun, sitting on the porch, chewing on a cigarillo and keeping away the bad boys from the hood. Clint has the kind of screen DNA that the Grand Old Party would like to bottle and sell.
So what was he doing batting for the kind of Americans who drive hybrids, eat Muesli and hate guns, ie Democrats? Except that he really wasn’t. If he did advocate the re-election of President Obama it was nothing more than a “message malfunction”.
And so to the fourth reason. The Republicans are panicking. The economy seems to be improving. The new trend is up, not down and this has been reflected in President Obama’s approval ratings.
Mitt Romney’s main appeal is that he is a turn around guy who can fix a failing economy. But if there is less reason for a turn around, why should America switch in half time to the turn around guy?
Especially since Mitt doesn’t exactly do any of the things that get you talked about, like flip the middle finger, wear a Roman tunic, or indeed just keep you awake.
There are 5 comments on this post
Clint is not a Republican. He considers himself too individualistic to be either right-wing or left-wing, describing himself as a “political nothing” and a “moderate” in 1974 and a “libertarian” in 1997. Eastwood has stated that he does not see himself as conservative or “ultra-leftist.” At times, he has supported Democrats in California, including Representative Sam Farr in 2002, and Governor Gray Davis, whom he voted for in 1998, and hosted a $5,000 per ticket fundraiser for in 2003.
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Matt,
Why anybody should consider that street-fight-in-motor-bike-helmets as “sport” is beyond me. The same applies to their “world series” in rounders.
I stopped watching when the Yank commentator yelled, “Here comes the team!” and something like a hundred and fifty helmeted and armoured knob heads came running from the tunnel. I had to switch off before my sides ached too much or I burst a rib laughing.
As for Madonna and dear old Clint……what did you expect at their age? Dignity?…..This is USA 2012 for chrissakes, an unreal comic soap opera of adverts and public relations that has actually begun to take itself seriously as “art form.”
I hope you manage to stay sane during your sojourn there. But I wouldn’t make book on it. Too many journos are sucker for this kind of thing.
No wonder their politicians look and sound like a rerun of The Muppets with a script written by the Boys from Langley.
Gawd help Western culture as it heads into Spengler’s long-forecast decline with the Americans in pole position.
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Matt,
It seems to me that people’s ignorance or the lack of understanding of sport gives them qualification to not call it a sport…To put in short American Football is a game of chess with beasts, tatitical but brutal.
Last it’s amazing that people will moan about commercial that is meant to be uplifting, inspirational and in a time of despair, and turn it into a negative thing. Yes I understand it is advertising but at the same there is a lot of truth in its message.
Really it just sounds like another opputunist American Basher, where in Britain there doesn’t sound like there is any hope but just cuts and very empty promises. America’s economy is bouncing how is Britains?
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This appeal to stupidity has got to stop.
I have been watching NFL aka American Football for 25 years and am still learning. It is brutal and it is beautiful. It is capable of awe inspiring feats and jaw-dropping action. In short, it is a brilliant sport. Just because some folks around here ‘don’t understand’ gives them no right to abuse it. They are ignorant, not the sport.
Similarly, the visceral attacks on this ad by dumb-ass republicans is yet another appeal to ignorance. Ignore the facts everyone, this is a disgrace, this is not what we want you to hear.
This “appeal to ignorance” logical fallacy is making its way over here too. Whenever the coalition are challenged and struggle to justify themselves we hear “labour’s mess” and “13 years and they did nothing” .. look at them, not us, and see how bad they are, not us.
Politics has become despicable and I fear the bad habits may be rubbing off on the rest of us.
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I agree with the last 2 posts. The level of skill, athleticissm & tactics required to play American Football at its best rivals anything in any other team sport. As Bob Dylan wrote “don’t criticise what you can’t understand”.
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