Super Bowl ad speaks to heart of America

By Samantha Radecki

Created:
02/06/12 6:12pm

Last updated:
02/06/12 6:13pm

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The reason many Americans tune in to watch the Super Bowl is not for their love of football, but instead to be entertained by the absurd, jaw-dropping and sometimes heart-touching advertisements that have been made famous for their wit, humor and price.

But this year, one commercial seems to have hit home with Americans on a much deeper level — the Chrysler ad featuring Clint Eastwood: “It’s Halftime in America.”

With our current economic state, it’s easy for Americans to get overburdened by the negatives. People like to avoid problems with distractions, sometimes humor and usually with things that don’t have any meaning at all, rather than to face them.

But this ad made Americans take a second look, and it made them feel OK about it. It gave them hope and a sense of seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Usually only the funniest ads get talked about the next day, the ones that made your sides split with laughter, and then they are left, forgotten. But this one is different. This ad is spinning up a buzz on most major news organizations’ websites. It’s been re-shared on Facebook and as of the Monday after the Super Bowl #ClintEastwood was trending on Twitter.

The ad opened a can of worms. It brought up what’s really going on in America and the struggles Americans face everyday. Worries about work, their homes, their families and how to keep it all afloat on a tight budget. It put all the football, flashy halftime entertainers and silly ads aside and put the tough issues, the ones on the minds of Americans, into perspective.

When Clint Eastwood says “People are out of work, and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re gonna do to make a comeback,” it’s relatable. The current unemployment rate is 8.3 percent and as of May 2011 the total U.S. consumer debt was $2.43 trillion. It’s no secret people are out of work and wondering how to cope.

It was also patriotic. “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch,” Eastwood said. “We get right back up again, and when we do, the world is gonna hear the roar of our engines.” He made me feel as if because we are American, because we are different, we can overcome our problems united as a nation. And that is something people easily can lose sight of in hard times.

I have worked at the same restaurant in my hometown, St. Ignace, Mich., for six summers. And all people talk about is the way things used to be. How busy the town was in the summer, how tourists would make it unbearable for locals and how people were making money, lots of money. But today, I can’t tell you how many businesses have closed or how many families have been forced to move and how many people live week to week on a minimum-wage check supporting a family.

When the impact of the economy hits home, it hits hard. In the commercial, Clint Eastwood said it’s time for our second half. I really hope we can make that comeback.

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