Super Bowl

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What Do We Mean When We Talk About Detroit?


Last night during the Super Bowl, Chrysler ran a follow-up to its much buzzed-about commercial from last year’s big game. The new commercial, dubbed “It’s Halftime in America” ran, appropriately enough, during halftime.

The ad makes it clear that Chrysler is sticking with its strategy to promote the Motor City as a way to promote its vehicles.

After declaring that “it’s halftime in America, the ad’s narrator, Clint Eastwood, says:

People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared because this isn’t a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now, Motor City is fighting again.

The ad got us thinking: When people say Detroit, oftentimes what they mean is “the auto industry” or “metro-Detroit.” So, what exactly are we talking about when we talk about Detroit?

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Midwest Memo: Cleaning Up In Indy, Expanding In Grand Rapids And Turning Trash Into Energy In Cleveland

The day after The Super Bowl is over, and now the cleanup process begins for Indianapolis.

Opportunity knocked Reuters looks into what happened to all those clients of MF Global, after the firm collapsed. Turns out two Chicago firms were the biggest winners, bringing in $1.2 billion in new funds.

More ‘Free’ beds The Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. is planning a $48 million expansion. The expansion will double the hospital’s size.

Gasification fight Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson wants to turn the city’s trash into energy. But environmentalists have raised concerns about emissions from the “gasification” process. And the city council is not sold on the idea.

Going once, going twice, oh never mind … Detroit residents who had their homes taken away because of a failure to pay taxes are getting an opportunity to buy those homes back. The Detroit News reports that thousands of city-owned properties failed to sell at auction. So officials now say they’ll offer to sell the property back to the original owner, or whoever is squatting in the home, for as little as $500.

Not really ‘Made In Detroit’ Last week, we put together a list of all the companies making t-shirts to show your local pride in the Midwest. Today, Susan Tompor looks at one of those companies and asks Where are those ‘Made In Detroit’ shirts actually made?”

The Material Girl Shows Her Midwest Love, We Wonder: Who’s The Greatest Cultural Ambassador For The Midwest Today?

NFL Network

Madonna talked about her love of the Midwest during an interview on the NFL Network yesterday. She's performing the halftime show at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday.

This year’s Super Bowl is between two east coast teams, but everything else about it is a showcase for the Midwest. The game itself is in Indianapolis, which gives the city global media exposure.

And then there’s the halftime show performance by Madonna. Before she was the Material Girl, Madonna was just a Midwestern girl.

Yesterday, Madonna sat down for an interview with the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, and the conversation seemed to promote the Midwest as much as it promoted football.

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Midwest Memo: Stopping Super Bowl Sex Trafficking In Indianapolis, Paying For Arts In Detroit

The part that’s not so Super It’s Super Bowl weekend in Indianapolis. Cities that host the Super Bowl are usually hoping for a big economic boost. But there’s one kind of economic activity that Indiana officials are hoping to avoid: sex trafficking. Reporter Michael Puente from partner station WBEZ had a look at the city’s efforts last week.

Land for sale If you’re looking to buy some land, you might want to check in with Cleveland-based the Forest City real estate company. The company, which built its empire on land purchases, is now looking to unload more than 6,500 acres of land.

An art tax? The Detroit Institute of Arts has a world class reputation, but lately it hasn’t been making world class money. Institute leaders are exploring the option of a new regional tax to pay for operations.

The (not so much) money train Leaders in West Michigan have rounded up $4.6 billion in funds to improve regional rail lines. But that’s still $2.6 billion short of what they need for what they’re hoping to do.

On air NPR’s Talk of the Nation took on the future of American manufacturing jobs yesterday.

Super Buzz For Chrysler Super Bowl Ad

Updated Monday evening

Only seconds after Chrysler’s two-minute ad ran during Sunday’s Super Bowl, the social media world was ablaze. A day later, the commercial, which featured the Chrysler 200, and rapper Eminem, had been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube, with “likes” outpacing “dislikes” by 13,000 to 435.

By Monday night, the ad was featured on NBC Nightly News in a report by Anne Thompson. And, it was still generating talk on Twitter and Facebook.

But is it an ad for a car — or an ad about Detroit? And who benefited more, the car company or the city?
Maybe it doesn’t matter. Continue reading