Steve Carpenter
Wra 110 Section 742
2/17/12
Renewed America
“It’s like the numbers game,” one man says. “The odds are way against you.But what
else can I do? I’ve been out of work since last fall.” Detroit was the United State’s
hardest hit economy in the economic downturn in 2007. With automotive sales down
due to business going overseas and many foreign automakers stepping foot in the
United States, times were tough. America and Detroit are finally seeing a little light at
the end of the tunnel and are trying to regain America’s trust back by a popular halftime
Superbowl commercial in 2012. Chrysler’s halftime commercial starring Clint Eastwood
and Detroit definitely uses all parts of the rhetorical triangle. Chrysler’s commercial uses
ethos, pathos, and logos all throughout this powerful commercial.
Right off the bat, you see a very large shadow casted on the wall with a powerful
voice to back it. The first thing Clint does is makes a comparison to the football game
and how they are fixing their mistakes at halftime and how Detroit and America are at
“halftime” fixing their mistakes. This is a great way to open a commercial because it
immediately hits your emotions whether your from Detroit or anywhere. Then a dirge
builds in the background with a cello playing music that makes you feel almost sad. As
soon as the dirge starts it shows an overhead view of Detroit and shows people getting
ready for work. You start being able to really relate to this because you see yourself or
your parents hard at work everyday. Than Chrysler goes on to show people in factories
hard at work,at the same time Clint says, “we almost lost everything, but America is
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pulling together and were fighting again.” This is a powerful quote that immediately
makes you feel proud and not sad. I think that Chrysler really wants the viewers to feel
proud to be an American and to buy a good product from home. The viewers are all
kinds of people, the Superbowl is the most watched event in America and everyone
from blue collar to white collar watches the Superbowl. Having such a broad audience
can really be hard sometimes to appeal to everyone’s emotions. Chrysler figured out
how to do a very good job and I think everyone feels something from watching this.
Using a dirge throughout, Clint Eastwood’s voice, and many pictures that hit home really
do the perfect job at making you feel something when you watch the commercial. That
is Chryslers main goal when producing this.
Chrysler wasn’t only concerned about capturing viewers emotions but also
wanted to show some ethos. Chrysler uses Clint Eastwood as the narrator because he’s
credible and represents everything Chrysler is trying to portray. Clint Eastwood may not
be from Detroit but I think they do this some what on purpose. I think last year when
they used Eminem it was credible because of his story and him being from Detroit, I
believe Clint represents more to America. Clint is an older man known for his old school
westerns where he is a fighter, but a fighter who gets back up when he gets knocked
down. I think this goes hand and hand with Chryslers message to us. People from the
age of 15-90 know who Clint is and know what he is all about. I think Chrysler made a
really smart move by choosing Clint because he appeals to a much larger crowd and is
very convincing. He has that “no mess around” voice which Chrysler is trying to
compare to their company. Clint is the blue collar celebrity that represents hard work
and shows were not messing around, we’re getting serious. He is very convincing
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throughout the entire commercial by saying, “I’ve seen a lot of tough times and a lot of
downturns in my life, and times when we didn’t understand each other, after those trials,
we all rallied together and acted as one.” After he says this you automatically make a
connection with Clint and the recession in America. You feel safe with him telling you
this, even though its a hard topic for some people. Not only is there a lot of ethos and
pathos but their is also some logos.
Chrysler’s commercial does a really good job once again at appealing to their
argument. Chrysler does a wonderful job by having Clint say, “America is hard at work
and no matter the circumstance we always find a way to pull out on top.” I think this is
an important quote because it is basically saying, look people were number one and
when we fall for a second we will still always be on top. So don’t waste your money
buying foreign, buy from the best. Chrysler really wants us to feel as if we know at least
someone that’s going through hard times. Chrysler is saying, the banks bailed us out
the first time and now we need the publics back again to help us be back on top. Now
more than ever.
Chrysler’s halftime commercial at the Superbowl is sending a very powerful
message to America. They definitely accomplished this goal by using the rhetorical
triangle and using all the parts. They mainly focused on pathos because emotions are
easily hit when talking about the recession. Also emotions are what make people buy
and appreciate things. I believe by showing this commercial during the Superbowl and
using Clint Eastwood are very smart choices. These really end up making the perfect
commercial when talking about the rhetorical triangle and how people see it. Clint
Eastwood ends the commercial by saying, “yeah it’s halftime America and our second
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half is about to begin.” This is a powerful message to leave the viewer with and to close
out the commercial. Ending it with Clint Eastwood saying that really makes the viewer
sit back and think about what Chrysler is all about.
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