Eminem Praised For Chrysler Super Bowl Commercial

Read more at: MTV.com

Advertising expert says Recovery rapper appears “really authentic.”

It was hard to miss the message of one of the biggest buzz-making ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Though clips of the top-secret Chrysler spot starring Eminem began to leak out Friday, most viewers had no warning that Slim Shady would be appearing in two commercials during the big game — one of them funny, the other dead serious.

Em — in puppet form — played his usual violence-prone comedic hothead in an ad for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea that aired early in the night, then later surprised many viewers by popping up in a cinematic spot for the Chrysler 200.

“There was a secrecy around the spot on Chrysler’s end that was something they were concerned about,” said Andrew Hampp, Los Angeles bureau chief for Advertising Age magazine. “As much as the spot is about what it’s like in Detroit, it’s very much about having Eminem … and it wasn’t necessarily about a promotion for a particular vehicle, but I came away with a higher appreciation for the Chrysler brand.”

Though the rapper is seen only in silhouette and from behind early in the ad, the dramatic arc of the two-minute commercial — the longest in Super Bowl history — follows the story of Detroit’s decline over the past few decades. But like favorite son Eminem, whose own career stalled out due to his drug demons, the commercial tracks Detroit’s eventual return and promises that the best days are still ahead. It concludes with a choir singing Em’s iconic “Lose Yourself,” and Eminem saying with a stern face, “This is the Motor City; this is what we do.” Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told the Detroit Free Press the ad cost “less than $9 million.”