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Bruce Springsteen has been at the top of the music game for almost 60 years now. Known for his powerful lyrics and electrifying live performances, Springsteen has become a cultural icon and one of the most successful musicians of all time. The extent of the heights that he has scaled was laid bare recently when the very lavish cost of tickets to his concerts was revealed. Apparently, some of these were going for as high as $5,000 for a concert.
Unsurprisingly, not everyone is the biggest fan of Springsteen’s. Radio personality Howard Stern was openly critical of his music for decades, although the pair eventually made up when the musician finally featured on The Howard Stern Show in October 2022.
Other than such examples, Springsteen has been universally famous and popular, as he always appears to find ways to remain relevant more than five decades since he started his career. The Jersey-born star has released a total of 21 studio albums in his time, a body of work which has earned him 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award (for Springsteen on Broadway).
Thanks to all these and other achievements, Springsteen has also become one of the richest people in the business, boasting a net worth well north of $500 million. With this kind of wealth, the singer has become known for his abstinence from starring in commercials.
Why Does Bruce Springsteen Refuse To Star In Commercials?
Other than his excellent music career, one thing that has always stood out about Bruce Springsteen is his unwillingness to appear in commercials. In an era where many musicians and celebrities are cashing in on their fame by endorsing products, the Born to Run star has remained steadfast in his refusal to “sell out.”
This is not to say that Springsteen has not been approached by companies to appear in their ads. In fact, over the years, he has been offered lucrative deals to promote everything from cars to soft drinks. Yet, he has turned down just about every single one of them. He has never concretely spoken about his decision not to feature in commercials, but his personality and history can perhaps point us in the right direction.
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Springsteen has always valued art over money, as evidenced in his response to the uproar against the “exorbitant” ticket prices. “I do a very simple thing. I tell my guys, ‘Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone in November 2022.
Bruce Springsteen Turned Down A Lucrative Offer To Star In A Commercial For Chrysler
One of the publicly known offers to feature in a commercial that Bruce Springsteen turned down came from former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca in the 1980s. While the exact figure that was presented to the musician so he could star in an advert for the automotive outfit is not known, it is believed to have been in the millions of dollars.
As with any other commercial offer, Springsteen refused to take up the opportunity. What’s more, the company never gave up their pursuit of the singer. In 2018, the CFO of Fiat Chrysler Olivier François (now CEO) revealed that they had continued trying to sign him up for an advert — to no avail.
“He’s not for sale,” François told Ad Age magazine of Springsteen’s dogged determination. “He’s not for rent. And there’s nothing you have that he wants.” The company’s three-decade pursuit was not entirely in vain, however, as they managed to eventually secure Springsteen’s involvement, albeit in a slightly different way than they might have originally wanted.
Bruce Springsteen Did Appear In A Super Bowl Commercial For Jeep In 2021
In February 2021, Bruce Springsteen finally broke decades of tradition when he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Jeep. The motor vehicle brand is owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, who had finally broken through in their long-running chase after Springsteen. The advert, however, had more to do with sending a message of unity in a very fractured time in America and the world at large, than it did with promoting the brand.
The two-minute video featured a montage of Springsteen driving around empty streets in a Jeep, in the foreground of a heartfelt voice-over about common ground. “There’s a chapel in Kansas, standing on the exact center of the Lower 48,” the narration starts. “All are more than welcome to come meet here in the middle… It’s no secret, the middle has been a hard place to get to lately, between red and blue, between servant and citizen, between our freedom and our fear.”
“Now fear has never been the best of who we are,” Springsteen continued. “And as for freedom, it’s not the property of just a fortunate few. It belongs to us all. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from. It’s what connects us. And we need that connection. We need the middle.”
