Bruce Springsteen stars and tells 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 time in an ad.
The iconic musician, known as ‘The Boss’, plays in and narrates the picturesque two-minute ad, which features far more Americana and scenery than Jeeps. The only vehicles in the ad are a 1980 Jeep CJ-5 and a 1965 Willys Jeep CJ-5. Both models are predecessors to the brand’s current Wrangler SUV.
During ‘The Middle’, Springsteen talks about a chapel in the middle of the country called the US Center Chapel in Lebanon, Kansas. He uses the extremely small chapel as a basis to talk about the country that should meet ‘here in the middle’ before the ad ends with ‘To the ReUnited States of America’. This is followed by a website and logos for Jeep, which celebrates its 80de anniversary in 2021.
“It’s no secret … The middle has been a difficult place to get to lately. Between red and blue. Between servant and citizen. Between our freedom and our fear,” says Springsteen. “Now, fear has never been the best of who we are. And as far as freedom is concerned, it is not just the property of only the happy; it belongs to all of us.”
The ad is reminiscent of previous Super Bowl ads by Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer of Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler). Specifically, a 2013 Super Bowl ad called “Farmer” featuring the voice of iconic radio announcer Paul Harvey and another semi-political ad starring Clint Eastwood called “It’s Halftime in America” in 2012. Both were scenic, pro-country ads with few real vehicles.
“It’s absolutely meant to be a sequel,” Francois told CNBC. “It’s our style. It’s our language. It’s our approach to Super Bowl. We’re really trying to achieve a little bit of what we’ve achieved in these other ads, which’s really relevant and meaningful and something that will really use the moment. “
Timeliness and relevance are pillars of Francois’ advertising style. He is also known for compiling celebrities from the A-list that are not usually associated with ads in unconventional ads. Past Super Bowl commercials included Detroit rapper Eminem, musician Bob Dylan, as well as a voice-over by Oprah Winfrey. Last year, Francois convinced elusive actor Bill Murray to reprise his role in the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” for a Super Bowl commercial.
A company spokesman declined to say how much the ad cost, including the fee for Springsteen, who is not known for appearing in ads but did give his vote to Joe Biden last year for a campaign.
Fiat Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois (left) with actor Bill Murray during the filming of the Jeep brand’s Super Bowl commercial in 2020.
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 commercial with another of his regular collaborators, Ron Aniello.
“Olivier Francois and I have been talking about ideas for the past ten years and when he showed us the outline for ‘The Middle’, our immediate response was, ‘Let’s do it,'” Springsteen manager Jon Landau said in a statement. statement said. “Our goal was to do something surprising, relevant, immediate and artistic. I believe that’s just what Bruce did with ‘The Middle’.”
The ad was created in partnership with the Doner agency in Michigan. The place was filmed in late January over five days in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.