Springsteen fails to unify liberals in Super Bowl Jeep ad
February 11, 2021
Music legend Bruce Springsteen, aka “The Boss,” appeared in a Super Bowl commercial Sunday preaching unity, but the ad left many on the Left disappointed given his political track record.
The Jeep ad ran for two minutes at an estimated cost of $22 million — not including Springsteen’s fee and production costs. The ad was described by Variety as “reflect[ing] a national mood of coming together after four years of politics and polarization,” which apparently were driven by former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
“The commercial is designed to spur viewers to mend the various rifts that have erupted in the nation in recent years. “We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground,” Springsteen says as he holds forth from a small chapel in Lebanon, Kansas, with his own 1980 Jeep CJ-5 in the picture.
“Our light has always found its way through the darkness. And there’s hope up on the road ahead.” The ad ends with the tagline, “To The ReUnited States of America.” Springsteen and producer Ron Aniello scored the ad with original music that ends with a lilting violin.”
This feel-good spot that was a direct attack on the previous administration surprisingly didn’t sit well with some liberals despite their admiration for Springsteen.
Washington Post music critic Chris Richards wrote: “Despite the healing sound of his voice, Springsteen is ultimately preaching reconciliation without reckoning — which after January’s Capitol siege is no longer an acceptable path toward progress.
“Plus, this is Bruce Springsteen. Isn’t he the guy who’s supposed to know everything about hard work? Suggesting that we should all swiftly and metaphorically travel to the nucleus of White, rural America to make up and move along feels insulting and wrong.”
Hillary Rosen, the former chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America and now a political commentator, tweeted, “I REVERE @springsteen. But this ad: 1) endorses “both siderism” as in both sides are equally responsible for the divisiveness. When actually one side has worked tirelessly to keep the other side down. 2) it’s still a Jeep ad. #SuperBowl”
https://twitter.com/hilaryr/status/1358607830152925184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1358607830152925184%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsandguts.com%2Fvideo%2Fbruce-springsteen-delivers-message-of-unity-in-super-bowl-ad%2F
David Corn, the D.C. bureau chief of left-wing Mother Jones, also tweeted his disappointment.
“I agree with @springsteen that a “Reunited States of America” is a good idea. But for that, there must be accountability, tolerance, and honesty. #SuperBowlCommercials”
I agree with @springsteen that a “Reunited States of America” is a good idea. But for that, there must be accountability, tolerance, and honesty. #SuperBowlCommercials
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) February 8, 2021
Apparently, they were hoping for more of when Springsteen said the Trump presidency “was a f—ing nightmare, but it was true.”
This reuniting of America comes from the same person who told Australians that he would leave the U.S. if Trump was re-elected.
Springsteen was trying to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s call for unity, but based on the reaction from liberals, his message is at the bottom of the charts.