Why Some Think Bruce Springsteen's Super Bowl Ad Missed The Mark

Ironically, "The Middle," which was the Super Bowl ad that Bruce Springsteen made his commercial debut in, was far more divisive than it was meant to be. The advertisement for Jeep was shot in Lebanon, Kansas, according to a tweet by The Associated Press, which they described as "near the geographic center of the country." Another tweet from The Wall Street Journal described the commercial as "a somber plea to end division in the U.S.," but people's reactions were far from united. 

Besides the obvious point to sell Jeep vehicles and appeal to customers on both sides of the aisle, the ad was meant to send a unifying message to people no matter their political affiliations. One person tweeted a quote from the clip with an added comment, "'we will cross that divide. There's always hope on the road ahead.' Thank you for that poetic message of unity." However, many viewers were angered by the ad and thought it missed the point.

The least critical shade was one tweet that read, "Bruce Springsteen's 'there's good people on both sides' moment." It led to several replies that more than appeared to drag the ad. One replied, "I hated the commercial sooooo much." Another wrote, "his ode to colonization via soil love." One more added, "it was A LOT happening." From there, the criticism heated up.

One not-so-subtle tweet said, "I agree with you Bruce @springsteen, after the Insurrectionists are punished. #ReunitedStates." Another bitterly sarcastic tweet read, "I love when Bruce Springsteen does blue collar cosplay." There was a third tweet that recognized the ad's shortcomings, and pointed out what they felt must be done besides a call for people of all political convictions to play nice. It said, "I agree with @springsteen that a 'Reunited States of America' is a good idea. But for that, there must be accountability, tolerance, and honesty."

To top it all off, Trevor Noah of The Daily Show jumped in with a tweet of his own that said, "BREAKING: Armed Trump supporters have stormed the church in the Bruce Springsteen Jeep ad." It was a fittingly satirical tweet to round out the ad's reviews.