Will Holmes Answers Chrysler's Question

When Will Holmes, an art director at BBDO New York, sat down to watch the Super Bowl last weekend he, along with millions of others, saw this spot for Chrysler starring Bob Dylan. He didn't like it.

Instead of just not liking it though, he chose to create this website which parodies the spot's seemingly rhetorical question; is there anything more American than America?

You’ve created this site as a reaction to the Chrysler spot; why is that?

Like everyone else in the US, I watched the Super Bowl adverts with as much attention as I watched the game. And when the Chrysler spot started with the line, 'is there anything more American than America?' I knew I was listening to one of the worst copy lines in a long time. I just wanted to highlight the ridiculousness of it.

What are you trying to say with your site?

I'm not trying to make a big statement or raise a commotion: I just want to poke fun at that line. And answer it more 'truthfully'. And have a bit of fun. And swear a bit (which will upset my mum). 

Some of the suggestions are quite provocative; are they meant as a commentary on the cultural landscape of the States?

Yes and no. This isn't supposed to be a piece that deeply discusses America's social landscape, it's just a bit of fun. That being said, gun crime and homicidal cops do feature over here. So do fake boobs.

There's a wide range of 'questions' on the site. But some suggestions didn't make the cut, simply because they were a little too close to home. Yes, school shootings happen in the US: no, I don't want to put that on the site.

As an Englishman in the US what do you think about the overt patriotism of the spot?

If you move to the States you have to be prepared for overt patriotism. If you don't like it, don't move here.

But I don't mind it, to be honest. I actually like how much Americans love America. This spot is just an extension of that, I suppose. Whether it works or not is a different story.

How did you come up with the different answers on the site to the question; is there anything more American than America?

I sit on a table of six guys, and I'm lucky that they're all pretty funny. Everyone's been throwing out lines that make them laugh, and I've been adding them to the site.

The table is made up of three Yanks, a Pakistani-American, a Canadian and myself, so we all have slightly different views of 'Murica.

What did you think of the Chrysler spot when you first saw it?

That it was a bit rubbish. After Wiedens hit the ball out of the park (wrong sporting analogy) the past two years, this one fell short.

For some reason, this new agency couldn't replicate the W+K magic. Shame. It felt like the longest two-minute ad that I've ever seen.

Are you surprised Dylan would appear in a car commercial?

Is there anything more American than an iconic musician and social commentator 'selling out' and being a spokesman for a huge brand? I don't know. Maybe. Fake boobs?

What sort of reaction has the site had so far?

I'm not too sure, really. It raised a chuckle at work. I tweeted it to Bob but he didn't get back to me. He's probably out driving somewhere.