With an average of more than 100 million viewers, I hope this advertisement which aired during the Super Bowl gets America’s attention.
Here’s what I like about the commercial:
1.) Detroit is proud. The commercial shows the pride of Detroit, the underdog who won’t allow herself to stay down. The fight that comes out of going “to hell and back.”
2.) Detroit is beautiful. When Eminem gets out of his Chrysler, the billboard at the Fox Theater reads, “Keep Detroit Beautiful.” The commercial unexpectedly declares the beauty of this depressed city and the scenes of in the commercial show some of that unique beauty!
3.) Detroit is the home town of important people. Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Kid Rock, Eminem. Come on, these people are hard core. Glad to see Eminem showing up in the commercial for the sake of Detroit’s image.
4.) Metro Detroit has an autoworker work ethic. The commercial says it best. “Hard work, conviction, and a know-how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. That’s who we are. That’s our story.”
5.) American cars need a boost. I’m tired of hearing about buying local produce while we buy foreign cars. Give American cars a chance. No disrespect to Americans employed by foreign automakers. Where I grew up, no one drove a foreign car.
6.) It makes fun of the media depictions of Detroit. “It’s probably not the one you’ve been reading in papers. The one written by folks who have never even been here and don’t know what we’re capable of.”
7.) The Music. Slim Shady, the real slim shady. Admit it, you like the beat. His music always gets turned up in my Dodge Grand Caravan.
8.) The Tag Line. “Imported from Detroit.” Imported is perhaps a way to make a Chrysler sound luxurious. It’s also a way to make Detroit stand apart. She certainly does not get love from the rest of the country, so Detroit might as well claim the term “imported” for the stuff she produces.
9 .) Motor City. The auto industry’s identification with the city of Detroit is overdue. Americans have been rejecting American cars like they reject Detroit. Together these underdogs can remake their image
10.) It’s placement during the Super Bowl. It’s time to pay attention to Detroit. I sense the real potential for a come back.
blogDetroit 
i was very pleased to see this commercial. it was smart, beautiful, and inspiring. a refreshing change from the quick laughs that most other super bowl ads tend to draw.
i was struck by your comment about buying local produce and foreign cars. how true! i have a foreign car at the moment, but i grew up with ford cars (i might have been more loyal if they had not laid off my dad.)
laura,
i agree. the commercial was beautiful.
re: buying local produce and local cars. it is a complex situation in both cases and my comparison may be unfair, but, i say, it’s at least worth talking about!! it was a stark contrast to go from growing up in a suburb where there are no foreign cars to moving to a suburb of similar economic status just one state over where there were pretty much no American cars. every minivan i saw was a honda or toyota and every sports vehicle was european.