Chrysler to Extend 'Halftime in America' Ad Campaign - Detroit Free Press

Halftime isn't over for Chrysler, despite the political flak it took for its Super Bowl commercial with Clint Eastwood.

The company said today that it has decided to turn the "It's Halftime in America" commercial that ran during the Super Bowl in February into a series of commercials for its four brands -- Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

According to the company, each ad has its own theme and dives deeper into the essence of each brand.

The commercials will begin airing tonight on national television.

"As you watch, you will see familiar scenes from the Super Bowl spot that weave their way in each of these commercials, all of which were scripted and filmed at the same time," Olivier François, Chrysler's chief marketing officer, said in a blog on Chrysler's media site.

Eastwood, however, is not among those faces. The people in the commercials are also actors, but Chrysler said the commercials are inspired by true stories.

Each spot was created by Chrysler and its Portland, Ore.-based advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy.

In February, Republican politicians and conservative pundits criticized Chrysler and Eastwood for a message that they thought endorsed President Barack Obama and the federal government's rescue of the automotive industry.

"I thought that the Republicans' reaction to this was -- was unnecessary and out of place," Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a "60 Minutes" segment last Sunday.

Last May, Chrysler repaid all loans made to it by the Obama administration six years before required. The only U.S. aid Chrysler has not repaid is what it received from the Bush administration.

The four new commercials tell stories about people overcoming life's obstacles.

Separately, Ram released a teaser photo of a chrome grille on its Facebook page in advance of the New York International Auto Show. Every day through next Wednesday, Ram plans to reveal a new photo on its site under the title "A Giant Awaits."

By Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com




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