Jeep is bringing back its Bruce Springsteen ad after the rock icon was cleared today of charges of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
“As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established. Now, that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film,” the brand said in a statement.
Jeep had pulled the big budget Super Bowl spot from its YouTube channel three days after it aired during the game after news broke that Springsteen was arrested Nov. 14 at Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and charged with DWI, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area.
At a virtual hearing today, prosecutors dropped the DWI and reckless driving charge, but Springsteen pled guilty to possession of alcohol in a closed area, according to Bloomberg, which reported that “the government asked the court to dismiss the two charges because Springsteen was presumed not to be impaired under New Jersey law, based on his blood alcohol level of .02 percent. The legal limit in New Jersey is .08 percent.”
Jeep had the ad back up on its YouTube channel by Wednesday afternoon. It had drawn some 37 million views before it was pulled. The ad was originally intended to run only once on TV. A Jeep spokeswoman today did not provide any information on what kind of paid media support the video would now get, if any.
