Going into last night’s Super Bowl game, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne were the center of attention for their adopted tribute songs for the Steelers (“Black and Yellow”) and Packers (“Green and Yellow”). But one of his two lucrative commercial spots made Eminem the Hip-Hop artist everyone will remember Monday morning.
The first, a 30 second spot for Brisk, allegedly paid Eminem $1 million to have his Slim Shady persona obnoxiously detail his commercial requirements. Considering the supposed price tag, the clip is pretty tame and underwhelming. Having the current highest selling rapper endorse your product is great, but this is not a commercial that will stay with anyone.
Chrysler won’t have that issue. While melodramatic in some parts (complete with a choir), the commercial has the city of Detroit as its centerpiece, with Eminem and the new Chrysler 200 championed as representations of the region’s strength. There’s political, nationalistic, and social undertones to the narrator’s Detroit monologue. It remains subtle, and the comes off very well with a reworked, low-key instrumental version of “Lose Yourself” playing in the background. The most important thing is you’ll remember it. Considering the estimated $9 million cost, I’m sure the producers expected nothing less.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 