DETROIT (AP) — People rarely pick a fight with Dirty Harry. But Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” ad featuring quintessential tough guy Clint Eastwood has generated fierce debate about whether it accurately portrays the country’s most economically distressed city or amounts to a campaign ad for President Barack Obama and the auto bailouts.

The 2-minute ad holds up Detroit as a model for American recovery while idealistic images of families, middle class workers and factories scroll across the screen.

“People are out of work and they’re hurting,” the 81-year-old Eastwood says in his trademark gravelly voice. “And they’re all wondering what they’re gonna 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.”

Conservatives, including GOP strategist Karl Rove, criticized the ad as a not-so-thinly veiled endorsement of the federal government’s auto industry bailouts. Others questioned basing a story of economic resurgence in a city that remains in fiscal disarray, with a $200 million budget deficit and cash flow concerns that have it fending off a state takeover.

But is it political? That depends on who you ask.

“I can’t stop anybody from associating themselves with a message, but it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part,” Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told WJR-AM in Detroit. “You know, we’re just an ingredient of a big machine here in this country that makes us go on.”

Last year was a pivotal turnaround year for Chrysler, which nearly collapsed in 2009. The company and its financial arm needed a $12.5 billion government bailout and a trip through bankruptcy protection to survive. Chrysler has since repaid its U.S. and Canadian government loans by refinancing them, but the U.S. government says it lost about $1.3 billion on the deal.

The ad with Eastwood, who previously publicly slammed the auto bailout, follows a highly popular one that aired last Super Bowl featuring hip-hop star and Detroit-native Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 through stark city streets – and introduced the tagline “Imported From Detroit.”

This time around, the focus was on faces and factories – far less on cars. Monday editions of USA Today came wrapped in a four-page ad that features Eastwood and images from the commercial. It also touts investments outside Detroit, specifically in Belvidere, Ill., where it’s making the new Dodge Dart.

That ad notes the company is “doing our part to move America forward. To help win this country’s second half for all of us.”

But despite “Halftime in America’s” celebration of Detroit, none of the new footage was filmed in that city, said Wieden + Kennedy, the Portland, Ore., agency that produced the ad. The portions of the commercial featuring Eastwood were filmed in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the rest of the production was shot in New Orleans and Northern California. The ad does feature previously filmed footage of Detroit, said Dianna Gutierrez, a Chrysler spokeswoman.

“It was very powerful, not only for Detroit but for the country and also for Chrysler,” said Allen Adamson, a managing director at brand consulting firm Landor Associates Adamson. “Of all the three, Chrysler was the least likely to succeed, the least likely to survive the storm. And they have come out with potentially the strongest story.”

Adamson also compared the spot to Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” ad in 1984, which tried to capture a feeling of American optimism during his re-election campaign. Reagan’s ad showed images of people going to work, buying homes, and getting married in greater numbers.

Rove told Fox News on Monday that he was “offended” by Chrysler’s ad, saying it amounted to “using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best-wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they’ll never pay back.”

Obama spokesman Jay Carney told the AP that the White House had no role in in the ad’s production, but said it pointed out “a simple fact, which is that the auto industry in this country was on its back and potentially poised to liquidate three years ago.”

“This president made decisions that were not very popular at the time that were guided by two important principles,” Carney said. “One, that he should do what he could to ensure that one million jobs would not be lost and, two, that the American automobile industry should be able to thrive globally if the right conditions were created, and that included the kinds of reforms and restructuring that Chrysler and GM undertook in exchange for the assistance from the American taxpayer.”

Eastwood, a fiscal conservative who is more liberal on social issues including gay marriage and environmental protections, has mixed with politics before. The former nonpartisan mayor of Carmel, Calif., who supported GOP presidential contender John McCain in 2008, told the Los Angeles Times last November that he can’t ever recall voting for a Democrat for president but expressed admiration for California’s Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.

On Monday, he told Fox News he is “certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama.”

“It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America,” Eastwood said of the Chrysler ad. “I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK.”

Eastwood’s longtime manager Leonard Hirshan told the AP that any stance Eastwood took on the auto bailout “has nothing to do with the commercial.” He said the actor donated his fee from the commercial to a charity in Monterey, Calif., near where he lives.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing called Chrysler’s ad a bit of positive public relations for a city that rarely pats itself on the back.

“I think the history in Detroit is one that is gritty. People have been down, but they get back up and they don’t quit,” Bing said. “Chrysler, they’ve been down more than once and they have not quit and they’ve come back.”

Analyst Bill Carroll of New York-based Katz Media called the ad effective American and industry boosterism.

“I don’t know that I would consider it political, other than if being pro-American is political, then it’s political,” Carroll said. “If underscoring the fact that the auto industry has made a significant comeback and is bringing back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. is political, then so be it.”

‘Halftime in America’ ad creates political debate is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Roseanne Barr’s name is on California’s primary ballot as a Green Party candidate for president.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Monday that Barr is among 24 candidates she intends to place on the June 5 ballot. An officially certified list will be released on March 29.

A news release says Barr is among three candidates for the Green Party presidential nomination.

The actress-comedian released a statement last week saying she’s a longtime supporter of the Green Party and she looks forward to working with people who share her values. She says the two major parties aren’t serving the American people.

The Green Party will select a presidential nominee at a convention in Baltimore in July.

Roseanne Barr on Calif. ballot for US president is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NEW YORK (AP) — Madonna’s not finished with stadiums.

Live Nation Entertainment announced Tuesday that the Material Girl’s first tour since 2009 will include a Sept. 6 show at Yankee Stadium.

On Sunday, she was the Super Bowl halftime performer at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Her world tour will start May 29 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It will include performances in Istanbul, Brussels, Helsinki and Zurich.

The North American portion of the tour will include Montreal, San Jose and Cleveland.

The tour will also visit South American and Australia.

Tickets for most of the U.S. shows go on sale Feb. 13.

Madonna’s last tour, 2008-2009′s “Sticky & Sweet,” grossed more than $400 million.

Her new album, “MDNA,” is scheduled for release March 26.

Madonna’s first tour since ’09 to start in Israel is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NEW YORK (AP) — Television already has “The Biggest Loser.” Dr. Mehmet Oz is looking for the biggest number of losers.

“The Dr. Oz Show” said Monday that it had netted its 1 millionth participant in its “transformation nation” health effort, and the number is climbing. One of those people will win a $1 million prize in May.

Since September, Oz has urged viewers to participate in his health challenge, done together with Weight Watchers. The number of registrants has increased steadily to a point that Oz said he’d never imagined the program would reach.

“It is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Oz said.

Oz’s program has seven steps, starting with the simplest: Tell a friend to get some moral support. Participants are asked to register with Weight Watchers and go to a center to have their body mass index calculated. Other steps include connecting with a doctor, learning your family’s health history, getting more sleep, managing stress better and starting new fitness habits.

A sample of 96,000 registrants who had weighed in at Weight Watchers determined they had collectively lost 672,000 pounds, or an average of 7 pounds per person, the show said.

The show will select 10 finalists that it believes best embody the effort – not necessarily those who lose the most weight – and viewers will choose a favorite this spring for the $1 million prize. People need to register by Feb. 26 to be eligible.

Participants are sent weekly email reminders by the show of things they need to do to reach their goals, tailored to their individual circumstances.

“Fundamentally, it’s about making it easier to do the right thing,” Oz said.

Oz also said he hoped the project would be a model for using TV to accomplish worthwhile goals.

Dr. Oz’s health effort nets 1 million participants is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clear Channel is giving Madonna all its luvin’.

The radio giant announced plans Friday to premiere the 53-year-old pop star’s new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and its music video across Clear Channel radio stations, electronic billboards and online venues. Clear Channel, which owns 850 stations nationwide, estimated the promotional campaign would reach more than 150 million people around the world.

Beginning on Friday morning, “Give Me All Your Luvin’” is scheduled to premiere simultaneously across 95 radio stations and on more than 1,600 digital billboards in the United States, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Belgium, Finland and the United Kingdom, as well as on demand at iHeartRadio.com, Clear Channel’s customized online radio service.

“This first-of-its-kind multimedia premiere with Madonna demonstrates the unequalled scope and strength of the entire Clear Channel platform – a range and depth that enables us to work with the most talented and creative artists in the world to develop truly groundbreaking promotional opportunities,” said Bob Pittman, CEO of Clear Channel, in a statement.

The Material Girl push is the latest multimedia endeavor from Clear Channel, which organized a two-day concert in Las Vegas last year that featured the likes of Jay-Z and Lady Gaga and announced last month that it was taking a minority stake in the production company of “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest, who produces E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

Madonna is expected to perform “Give Me All Your Luvin’” and three other tunes at her Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday in Indianapolis. Her new album “MDNA” is set to be released in March.

Madonna launching video on billboards, online is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NEW YORK (AP) — Companies hope you’ll be gabbing about their Super Bowl ads on Monday morning. But the ultimate score is if those conversations continue throughout the year.

The Super Bowl is an advertiser’s biggest stage (more than 111 million fans are expected to tune in this year). It’s also an advertiser’s biggest gamble (a 30-second spot costs $3.5 million). Marketers are willing to take the risk, though: A successful ad can generate buzz well after the game for the companies, products and people who star in them.

“If you do it well, it has the opportunity to set your company straight or change the direction of your company,” says Allen Adamson, a managing director at brand consulting firm Landor Associates. “You’ll never get all those people in one room again until next year.”

Here are three of the most talked-about ads from last year’s Super Bowl and what happened to the companies that created them:

May the force be with you

Volkswagen’s ad last year had everything to grab your attention: a cute, little boy, a retro theme, a funny plot.

The German automaker charmed millions of viewers with a “Star Wars” themed ad for its redesigned 2012 Passat sedan. The commercial shows a young boy in a Darth Vader costume trying unsuccessfully to use “The Force” on a doll, washer machine and even his pet dog. Finally, he thinks he’s done so when his dad uses a remote to start the Passat. The boy is shocked.

Volkswagen took a gamble by releasing the spot before the game – something most advertisers didn’t do last year. But the move paid off: the ad quickly became a viral hit on video-sharing website YouTube, with 49.4 million views since. And it came in No. 3 on USA Today’s Ad Meter, which ranks Super Bowl commercials. (The top two ads, tied for first, was a Bud Light ad showing dogs catering a party and a Doritos spot featuring a pug that knocks down a man who taunts him with the chips.)

The ad also helped tout the new sedan. The Passat went on sale in the summer and has been a popular seller for Volkswagen in the U.S. In December, for example, volume sales of the sedan more than doubled to nearly 23,000 for the year.

And the 6-year-old boy in the ad, Max Pagehasm, became a celebrity. After the ad aired, Max, who was also part of the cast of “The Young and the Restless” soap opera, appeared on NBC’s “Today” show and MSNBC.

For its part, Volkswagen is revisiting its Star Wars motif during Sunday’s game, only this time with an ad for its Volkswagen Beetle. The carmaker has released a “teaser spot” for its commercial that shows dogs dressed as Star Wars characters barking “The Imperial March.” It has already gotten 10 million views on YouTube.

Then, on Wednesday, the company released online a 75-second version of the 60-second Super Bowl ad that shows a dog losing weight so he can chase after a Beetle. Then it cuts away to show aliens in the Cantina from “Star Wars” discussing the ads.

Volkswagen’s thinking: why depart from a proven formula?

Imported from Detroit

While many Super Bowl ads use humor, kids or animals to tug at the heartstrings, Chrysler took an altogether different approach with its cinematic “Imported from Detroit” spot to roll out its 200 sedan.

Set to a pulsating beat from Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” song, the ad shows gritty footage of the hip-hop star driving the 200 through the streets of Detroit, past city landmarks, historic homes and of course, people. The ad ended with Eminem on stage in front of a humming choir with the message: “This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.”

The ad, which paid homage to Detroit’s automotive history, resonated with people immediately. It tied for the third most popular Super Bowl in a ranking by Michigan State University. (The Volkswagen ads, the one starring the mini-Darth Vader and another with an animated Beetle got the top spots.) Since then, the Chrysler ad has been viewed 14 million times on YouTube.

The “Imported from Detroit” slogan caught on, too. The term has become popular among Detroiters. It has been plastered on T-shirts and hats, helping Chrysler’s online store sales to more than double. And about a dozen people have started Facebook groups using the tagline.

Larry Callahan’s Selected of God choir, the Detroit group that co-stars in the ad, also gained popularity. The choir has since created a music video for the song, and it’s been viewed nearly 390,000 times since the end of July. It’s also available on iTunes. And a new full length CD is due out in March.

But it seems the ad did more for the city of Detroit than Chrysler. After the ad hit in February, the number of 200s sold jumped four-fold from the previous month to more than 3,000. But overall, only about 87,000 were sold last year. By comparison, the top-selling car in America, the Toyota Camry, sold more than 300,000.

This year, Chrysler has one 60-second Super Bowl spot. It hasn’t released any details about the ad, but it’s not expected to be as big of a hit.

Not so funny after all

Generating buzz during the Super Bowl isn’t always a good thing. Groupon learned that the hard way.

For its first Super Bowl ad, daily deals site Groupon hired a Miami ad firm known for its funny and quirky ads. The agency, Crispin Porter & Bogusky, created fake public service announcements that showed celebrities who seemingly were discussing social issues, but instead are really talking about Groupon deals.

In one ad, for example, actress Elizabeth Hurley lamented deforestation, but then discussed a deal on a Brazilian wax. In another, actor Timothy Hutton appears to be talking about the crisis in Tibet, but instead raves about a Groupon deal on Tibetan food.

“The people of Tibet are in trouble,” Hutton said in the ad. “But they still whip up an amazing fish curry.”

All ads pointed viewers to http://www.savethemoney.org , which encouraged visitors to donate to each of the charities related to the causes in the ads. But that wasn’t clear to everyone who say the commercials.

A Tibet human rights organization called Free Tibet called the ad about Tibet exploitative. And Alterian, a firm that measures online activity, said it was among the five most-discussed ads online on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but the buzz was negative. Meanwhile, it didn’t score high on any ad popularity polls.

Groupon later said it had trusted its advertising agency too much. It would up pulling the ads a week after the Super Bowl, and ending its relationship with CP+B.

Since the ad flap, the Chicago-based firm became a public company in November. The company’s stock has been volatile since then. Its shares, originally priced at $20, have traded in a range of $14.85 to $31.14.

This year, Groupon is sitting out the Super Bowl

Super Bowl ads that generate buzz after the game is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NORTH GREENFIELD, Ind. (AP) — Steven Tyler says he meant to sing the national anthem like that.

The Aerosmith frontman and “American Idol” judge endured plenty of jabs after his rendition of the anthem at the AFC Championship game last month, but Tyler says he doesn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

“I don’t know. As I said before, I put emphasis on, `In the land of the free’ and I went up,” Tyler explained. “Oddly enough I hit the note so I don’t know what they are talking about. I emphasized `free’ which was for freedom. It was well thought out prior to. I wasn’t messing with American tradition.”

Enduring negative criticism at that football game did not stop Tyler from enjoying pre-Super Bowl festivities with Carrie Underwood. The duo is in Indianapolis for CMT’s “Crossroads,” which brings acts from different genres together to perform. It’s not the first time the two have sung together: They performed a duet at the Academy of Country Music Awards last year.

“I just love to sing and I love her stuff. A good friend of mine writes songs with her. When I heard `Undo It,’ I said, `What is that?’ That is an Aerosmith song, right? I am going to finish recording that with you. He said, `No, I wrote that with Carrie, it is coming out in a week,’” he said. “I met her and it was all over after that, once I looked into her eyes. She opened her mouth and sang and she is that good. I loved singing with her.”

The two rehearsed Thursday evening in North Greenfield, just outside of Indianapolis, ahead of their scheduled Saturday show (it will air the same night on the network). The former “Idol” champ says she enjoys working with the lively Tyler because he “makes everybody all warm and fuzzy.”

While Tyler, closely connected to Boston for years, made clear he was rooting for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, Underwood demurred when asked to name her pick. In her house, she says hockey is the main focus, since husband Mike Fisher is a professional hockey player in Nashville.

“He is Canadian so I have had to switch his focus from so much hockey to a little football because we watch a lot of hockey,” she said. “I love watching him and I love watching the Predators.”

Steven Tyler defends national anthem performance is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Kelley, the daring and influential contemporary installation artist who counted the band Sonic Youth and artist Paul McCarthy among his collaborators, has died, police said Wednesday. He was 57.

Kelley’s body was found at his home Tuesday night and it appeared he had committed suicide, South Pasadena Police Sgt. Robert Bartl said, without providing further information on the death. An autopsy was pending.

The artist’s death brings a tragic end to a career empowered by both a punk-rock rebelliousness and pop-culture kitsch. Kelley famously filled art spaces with sculptures and unorthodox objects, and his solo exhibit “Catholic Tastes” at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York,” which provocatively combined dolls, drawings and other objects, established him as a major figure in the art world in 1993.

“His work was widely collected and exhibited internationally,” said Stephanie Barron, senior curator of modern art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. “He had a voracious appetite for all kinds of art. He was enormously curious and worked incredibly at his craft. He was never afraid to think really big. Artists like that don’t come around very often.”

Bartl said authorities went to Kelley’s home Tuesday after a concerned family friend went to the residence, and then called 911. The friend told investigators that Kelley had been depressed after recently breaking up with his girlfriend, but no note was found, Bartl said.

Kelley’s work will be included in the upcoming 2012 Whitney biennial in New York.

In addition to “Catholic Tastes,” other major solo exhibitions included 2004′s “The Uncanny” at the Tate Liverpool in the United Kingdom and 2006′s “Profondeurs Vertes” at the Louvre in Paris.

“Mike was an irresistible force in contemporary art,” Kelley’s studio, Gagosian Gallery, said in a statement that the Los Angeles Times published on its website. “We cannot believe he is gone. But we know his legacy will continue to touch and challenge anyone who crosses its path. We will miss him. We will keep him with us.”

Kelley’s notable works included a life-size re-creation of his childhood home on wheels, tiny rendition of Superman’s extraterrestrial birthplace encased in a glass jug and several spherical sculptures made of stuffed animals.

“His works often violated notions of so called good taste and blurred the boundaries between art, music and popular culture,” said Barron.

He erected a life-sized Colonel Sanders statue alongside a miniature Sigmund Freud at the Gagosian in Los Angeles in 2011 and was influenced by old yearbooks for a sprawling 2005 exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York that featured a 15-foot-long missile called the “gospel rocket.”

Kelley was a student of conceptual artist John Baldessari, and he collaborated with fellow bold artists like Paul McCarthy and Tony Oursler. The band Sonic Youth used Kelley’s work on the album cover for “Dirty” released in 1992.

Born in Detroit, Kelley founded the band Destroy All Monsters with three other musicians in 1974. He left the band in 1978 to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, near Los Angeles, but never strayed far from the music scene, frequently contributing to music journals and always counting music as an inspiration.

“He was extremely intense, very serious, phenomenally well read. He would go very deep into his subjects, a real artist scholar but with a real passion for whatever he was investigating,” Barron said.

After encounters with him, Barron said, “I always came away learning something new, thinking about things differently and in awe of his curiosity.”

Although she corresponded with him in the last couple of weeks, the last time she saw him was a month ago.

“It’s incredibly sad,” Barron said. “It’s hard to imagine somebody with the life force and intensity that Mike brought to bear is no longer with us. His impact will be seen with distance as all the more powerful and we’ll have to begin to process this.”

Artist Mike Kelley found dead in Los Angeles home is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

NEW YORK (AP) — As David Letterman and Howard Stern can attest, a 30-year anniversary celebration is a ripe opportunity to cringe at geeky haircuts.

Letterman marked three decades in late-night TV on Wednesday on CBS by bringing Stern, one of his favorite guests, onto his “Late Show.” They congratulated each other on age improving their looks.

Then Letterman proved it, displaying a picture of them from when Stern first appeared on the then-NBC show in May 1984. Letterman had a bushy head of hair. Stern had a mustache.

Letterman said about Stern’s old picture: “It looks like a guy who was on to talk about a career of writing bad checks.”

Stern advised burning the picture but recalled how grateful he had been for the invite.

“Back then, the fact that you asked me to be on a national television show was mind-blowing to me,” he said.

Letterman also brought some of his long-time employees onstage to present the “Top Ten Things Staffers Would Like to Say to Dave on his 30th Anniversary in Late Night.”

One of the cleanest, and most succinct, entries came from veteran executive producer Rob Burnett: “You’re incompetent.”

The “Late Show with David Letterman” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time.

Letterman celebrates 30 years in late-night TV is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Jay ate the veggies.

First lady Michelle Obama cajoled Jay Leno into nibbling on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini on the “Tonight Show,” breaking his long-held aversion for all-things-healthy in his diet.

Leno once told a magazine he hadn’t eaten a vegetable since 1969, and he insisted he tasted his last apple in 1984. That didn’t dissuade the first lady, who’s promoting her “Let’s Move!” campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits.

Earlier, Obama poked at him in a Twitter post, hinting she’d “get Jay to eat some veggies” on the NBC show.

He did.

“That does smell very good. I assume this is sausage-pepperoni,” the comedian quipped as he eyed the pizza made with a whole-wheat crust.

She convinced Leno to dip an apple in honey made from beehives in the White House garden: “It will help it go down easier,” she assured him.

“White House honey? That sounds bad,” Leno told her. “You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing, `a little White House honey.’”

The first lady is on a two-day swing through California where she’ll promote her initiative while attending two events to help Democrats raise money for the upcoming elections.

She told Leno she’s not doing anything special to prepare for what’s expected to be a tough re-election campaign for her husband, President Barack Obama.

“You know, there’s really no way to mentally prepare for it. You take each day as it comes,” she said.

Republican Mitt Romney has been ridiculing the White House and might face the president in November, but the first lady graded the former Massachusetts governor’s singing voice with something like a sly endorsement. Romney surprised supporters in Florida with an on-pitch version of “America the Beautiful” on Monday, and Leno asked the first lady for her opinion.

“It’s beautiful,” she said after a pregnant pause, with a laugh and raised eyebrows. “And it is America’s song, and it’s a song that’s meant to be sung by every American,” the first lady said in a taped appearance for the NBC show.

Leno told her, “That is right, regardless of political affiliation.”

But she swooned over her husband’s singing – Obama took a brief turn as a soul singer earlier this month at a New York fundraiser, crooning a bar from an Al Green classic. She says he does a little Marvin Gaye, too.

“He does have a beautiful voice, and he sings to me all the time,” she told Leno.

First lady pushes Jay Leno to eat healthy foods is an Article from: Fox Rio 2 News RGV