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Brandon Campbell
Ms. J
ENGL 2000
6 February 2014
“Born of Fire” Rhetorical Analysis
In the history of Super Bowl ads, Chrysler’s commercial from the 2011 Super Bowl titled
“Born of Fire” stands out from the pack. This advertisement for the Chrysler 200, a luxury sedan,
won an Emmy in 2011 for best commercial. It also revitalized their company following the
recession and government bailouts during this time. Throughout the commercial there are several
scenes from the city of Detroit while an unknown narrator is talking. He speaks steadily in a deep
and authoritative voice as he describes Detroit. There are also appearances by Eminem, a wellknown rap artist, but he does not speak until the very end. The overall speaker of the message
would have to be Chrysler who is trying to appeal to the driving population of America,
especially young adults. In addition to get customers to buy their product, Chrysler also sparked
a feeling of patriotism and the satisfaction of buying American-made vehicles. By doing this,
they were able to recover quickly from the recession as well as other car companies, which
stimulated the economy.
Some of the key choices that made this advertisement so successful include the images
from the city of Detroit as well as the background music that was playing throughout the
commercial. There were several significant images from the city of Detroit that appeared
throughout the advertisement. Images such as run-down and graffiti-covered buildings as well as
large industrial factories with smoke billowing from them showed the rough side of Detroit as a
way of saying that Detroit was resilient and hardworking and therefore they have an excellent
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product as a result of that hard work. In addition, the American flag appeared a few times which
was meant to spark a feeling of patriotism and connect that feeling with the Chrysler brand.
The background music was also significant because it was the perfectly matched the
rough and tough personality Chrysler was appealing to. The song was Eminem’s “Lose
Yourself” which is arguably one of his most popular songs. Even though it came out years before
this commercial was released it was easily identifiable to the audience, even without the lyrics.
The artist himself that Chrysler chose to endorse its product was a strategic choice because he
also has that rough and tough quality. It was probably not coincidence that Eminem grew up and
made his start as a rapper in Detroit as well. Eminem served as an easily recognizable figurehead
for the Chrysler 200 as well as a credible authority on the character of Detroit.
The advertisement relied heavily on speech rather than the use of text. Throughout the
commercial, the narrator talked about the city of Detroit and the qualities that make that city, and
America, great. Eminem’s line at the end is also significant because it is meant to stick in your
mind. He says, “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.” This is another appeal to the
credibility of Detroit and the Chrysler brand. It is meant to make the audience feel assured that
they are getting a good product because they have been in this business for a long time. The
same can be said for the only significant piece of text that came at the very end when Chrysler
introduced its “Imported from Detroit” tagline, which they still use today. Chrysler wants the
audience to view their product as being on par with the value and reliability of an imported
vehicle.
The time in which the commercial was released was well timed in a couple of ways. First
of all, the celebrity endorsement by Eminem showed an effective use of kairos. Even though they
used one of his well-known songs from a few years earlier, Eminem certainly had plenty of hit
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songs at the time this commercial was released. Therefore, they were capitalizing on his current
popularity and his reputation as an established music artist. Secondly, the tagline “Imported from
Detroit” that was introduced during this advertisement displayed an effective use of kairos as
well. During this period, America was in a period of economic recession, and this tagline
implored consumers to stop purchasing cars made in other countries. Instead, they should
stimulate the economy by purchasing cars made in America, in this case the Chrysler 200. There
was a common belief at the time, and perhaps still today, that imports were better than
American-built cars in the sense that they run better and last longer. Therefore, by making their
tagline “Imported from Detroit” Chrysler is actually arguing their cars are better than or at least
equal to their foreign counterparts.
There are several appeals to both pathos and ethos in the “Born of Fire” of commercial.
The appeal of pathos is achieved through an appeal to traditional American values. Specifically,
they appeal to the American Dream, or in other words, the value of a hard day’s work and the
success that comes from that. In this case, the Chrysler 200 would be the success that comes
from the hard working Americans in Detroit. They also show the American flag a few times
during the commercial, which suggests a link between patriotism and buying their Americanmade product. The appeal to ethos is even more prevalent during this advertisement. The first
appeal to ethos comes from the Chrysler brand itself. They are an established brand and therefore
know how to make a good product. The second appeal would be the credibility of their celebrity
endorsement, Eminem. His connection to Detroit as well as his popularity over the past fifteen
years gives strength to the commercial. Finally, the strongest appeal to ethos is the credibility of
Detroit. Detroit is depicted as a city that “has been to hell and back” and thrived through hard
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work and determination. The message of the commercial is equally about the love Chrysler has
for Detroit as it is about selling a product.
In conclusion, Chrysler was able to recover from a dismal period in America’s economy
and flourish due the effectiveness of the “Born of Fire” campaign. The appeal to the American
values such as patriotism and hard work results in success were essential to the success of this
commercial. In addition, the use of “Lose Yourself” by Eminem as background music perfectly
set the tone for the rough and tough city scenes of Detroit. The most strategic moves by Chrysler
were using Eminem as their celebrity endorsement due to his success as a music artist coupled
with his connection with Detroit and the introduction of “Imported from Detroit” tagline that
emphasized the importance of keeping the wealth at home. In this advertisement, Chrysler was
doing more than selling a product. They were also rebuilding their company and their city.