“So many odd things about that Chrysler 200 ad I don’t know where to start. But, a very gutsy call.”

That is what I tweeted during a live Sports Business Daily Twitter panel on Super Bowl Sunday immediately following the airing of the two-minute Chrysler spot that featured rapper Eminem in a cameo.  I was rendered slack-jawed by the spot; I wasn’t sure what to think.  I did recognize that what Chrysler had put forth to the over 100 million viewers of the broadcast was something bold.

Over 50 ads appeared “in-game” during the Super Bowl XLV broadcast.  There was a full assortment of the typical cheap laughs: shots to the crotch , animal revenge, and male shallowness.  We were once again treated to poorly-acted titillation, heavily produced anthropomorphism, and a smorgasbord of celebrities, mostly from the music industry.  There were a few hardy chuckles; several winces, but only one real jaw-dropping moment.  That moment—two minutes actually—came in the third quarter of the game when the gritty images of downtown Detroit filled the screen. (more…)