• By
  • Suzanne Vranica

Could a computer error have caused Chrysler’s high-profile Super Bowl ad to go mysteriously missing from YouTube?

Chrysler Group’s two-minute Super Bowl spot featured Clint Eastwood trying to rally America.

Chrysler Group LLC’s two-minute long spot (watch below), dubbed “Halftime in America,” featuring Clint Eastwood trying to rally America, disappeared from Google Inc.’s online-video outlet YouTube late Sunday night. The ad was one of the most popular among Super Bowl viewers.

“This country can’t be knocked out with one punch; we get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines,” said Mr. Eastwood in the spot.

Anyone checking YouTube hoping to see the gritty and emotional ad Monday morning instead found a message: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NFL Properties LLC.” That sparked some blogs to speculate about what happened.


So when word got out that the spot was gone, Chrysler scrambled to get to the bottom of the mystery, according to people familiar with the matter.

Google, the owner of YouTube, told Chrysler that it had received a “take down” notice from a third party company authorized by the NFL to uphold copyright and trademark protection, according to a person familiar with the situation.

This third party had classified the Chrysler commercial as NFL content due to its proximity to the official halftime show and alerted YouTube to remove the content.

But that classification was a mistake. The ad had been approved by the NFL and NBC, the Comcast Corp. unit that broadcast the Super Bowl, according to people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for the NFL confirmed “our office did not ask to take it down. We asked Google to reinstate it immediately, which it did. We did not object to the ad or its placement online.”

Indeed, the ad was reinstated to YouTube late Monday morning. YouTube said in a statement that it “expeditiously removes content when it receives a copyright notification from copyright owners, or from third party agencies operating on their behalf.  We reinstate content when we receive a retraction from the party who originally submitted the notification. The video has been reinstated,” said a statement from YouTube.

So ended the mini-drama. One interesting sidelight: Chrysler filmed two versions of the commercial, according to people familiar with the situation. The other, unused version, starred actor Al Pacino. Another big name considered for the commercial was Bruce Springsteen.


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