Chrysler Ad Producers' Obama Connections

By Tina Daunt, Hollywood Reporter

This year’s most discussed Super Bowl ad—a two-minute spot for Chrysler narrated by Clint Eastwood—continues to generate controversy in conservative political circles, where a host of questions have been raised about the automaker’s alleged motives for commissioning the advertisement.

Several members of the Widen+Kennedy team that produced the Eastwood spot were among the creative professionals who privately supported Obama’s first election campaign. Creative director Aaron Allen, for example, created a striking poster, called "United the States of America," on candidate Obama’s behalf. The poster shows an Obama silhouette bringing together red and blue spheres meant to representing America’s partisan division. His official bio notes that he “also works on personal art projects, including a poster for the 2008 Obama campaign that was shown in several galleries and publications.”

The ad’s art director, Jimm Lasser, created an entire art exhibit in New York around Nike-style shoes bearing Obama’s image. Another of the creative directors, Michael Tabtabai has used his Twitter account recently to send out the message “Obama x Incredible Hulk. America STRONG!” and linking to an image of an action doll of the president looking like the comic book super hero.