Bruce Springsteen plays 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 commercial for Jeep – his first appearance in an advertisement.
The iconic musician, known as the “Boss”, plays and tells the picturesque two-minute commercial, which presents much more American and scenery than Jeeps. The only vehicles in the ad are a 1980 Jeep CJ-5 and a 1965 Jeep CJ-5 Willys. Both models are the predecessors of the brand’s current Wrangler SUV.
During “The Middle”, Springsteen talks about a chapel in the center of the country called the US Center Chapel in Lebanon, Kansas. He uses the extremely small chapel as a base to talk about the country that must “meet here in the middle” before the announcement ends with “Towards the United States of America.” It is followed by a website and logos for Jeep, which is celebrating its 80th anniversarya anniversary in 2021.
“It’s no secret … The middle ground has been a hard place 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 us. And when it comes to freedom, it’s not just the property of a few lucky people; it belongs to us all.”
The announcement is reminiscent of past Super Bowl announcements from Olivier Francois, marketing director of Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler). Specifically, a 2013 Super Bowl commercial called “Farmer” featuring the voice of iconic radio station Paul Harvey and another semi-political commercial with Clint Eastwood called “It’s Halftime in America” in 2012. Both were picturesque, pro-country commercials with few real vehicles.
“He is absolutely destined to be a successor,” Francois told CNBC. “It simply came to our notice then. This is our language. This is our approach to the Super Bowl. We really tried to do a little bit of what we did in those other commercials, which is really relevant and meaningful and something that will really touch the moment. “
Timeliness and relevance are the pillars of Francois’ advertising style. It is also well-known for distributing A-list celebrities, which are not usually associated with advertising in unconventional ads. Past Super Bowl announcements have included Detroit rapper Eminem, musician Bob Dylan, and a voice of Oprah Winfrey. Last year, Francois persuaded evasive actor Bill Murray to reprise his role in the 1993 film Groundhog Day for a Super Bowl commercial.
A company spokeswoman declined to say how much the ad cost, including the fee for Springsteen, who is not known for appearing in commercials, but gave her voice to a campaign ad last year for Joe Biden.
Fiat Chrysler CMO Olivier Francois (left) with actor Bill Murray during the filming of the Jeep brand’s 2020 Super Bowl commercial.
Fiat Chrysler
Francois said Springsteen was intimately involved in creating the commercial and worked closely with director Thom Zimny. He wrote and produced the original score for the commercial with another frequent collaborator of his, Ron Aniello.
Olivier Francois and I have been discussing ideas for the past 10 years, and when he showed us the outline for “The Middle,” our immediate reaction was “Let’s do it,” Springsteen manager Jon Landau said in a statement. “Our goal was to do something surprising, relevant, immediate and ingenious. I think that’s what Bruce did with “The Middle.”
The ad was created in partnership with the Doner agency in Michigan. The spot was filmed for five days in late January in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.