DETROIT — Finally.
After numerous pitches through the years, Stellantis marketing chief Olivier Francois secured the talents of iconic musician Bruce Springsteen for a Jeep Super Bowl spot.
It’s no surprise that they had to go big.
The ambitious Francois’ knack for tapping into the pulse of America in Super Bowl spots combined with the socially conscious Springsteen’s immense presence demanded nothing less.
The result is a two-minute film, “The Middle,” that will focus on uniting the country and air during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s NFL championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
One of the shoot locations for the ad was the U.S. Center Chapel in Lebanon, Kan., which stands in the geographical center of the continuous 48 states and carries symbolic meaning in the commercial as middle ground.
In the spot, Springsteen said “the middle” has been a hard place to get to lately, “between red and blue, between servant and citizen, between our freedom and our fear.”
The message is as relevant as ever in a time of political upheaval and social unrest that have put a magnifying glass on the cultural divide that the U.S. must reckon with.
“There’s a high level of emotion in the country right now,” Francois told Automotive News. “This is a healing message that I think really speaks for itself.”
The theme could have fit in other times, Francois said, but “relevance is one thing. I think, in this moment, it is almost needed.” The spot was created in partnership with Doner, a Detroit-based ad agency.
