Bruce Springsteen Unites Both Sides Against “The Middle”

I’m easily the biggest fan of Bruce Springsteen that a lot of people know, as evidenced by the messages I received during Super Bowl LV: “What did you think of Bruce’s commercial? Did you love it?”

My love for Bruce Springsteen is similar to my love for my country. It runs deep in my veins and does not prevent me from criticizing either when the critique is well-deserved.

When I initially heard that Bruce Springsteen would be in a Super Bowl commercial, I have to admit I was surprised. He has never appeared in an ad before, and to my knowledge he has not previously permitted his music to be featured in commercials, either.

This begs two questions: Why Jeep? Why now?

According to CNBC, the commercial was a decade in the making. A chief marketing officer for Jeep’s parent company reached out to Springsteen’s manager annually since 2011 with a pitch for a Super Bowl ad. Springsteen declined every year, until this past January, when he signed on to the spot entitled, “The Middle.”

“The Middle” is set in and around a chapel in Lebanon, Kansas, which is described as the geographic center of the lower 48 states. Springsteen talks about how it’s been hard to agree on things lately (presumably as Americans) but that by remembering we stand on common…