Tom Brady might not have played in this year’s Super Bowl, but we saw some Patriot Games in Sunday’s advertising. Recent CEC research demonstrated the importance of emotional connections in driving advocacy, and at least two dueling Super Bowl advertisers tapped the concerns, pride, and exceptionalism of America to engender such support. Surely patriotism has always been a profitable message but as the economy teeters between growth and gridlock we may be seeing a surge in such sentiments.  Did Sunday offer a lesson to communicators on how to Americanize their messages?  An instant replay follows:

First up was BMW, which spliced quintessentially American coffee shops and high school football games with scenes from its US facilities to showcase the new X3.   In fact, the voice over explicitly asked viewers to consider the possibility that a German company well represented American design and manufacturing.  From a communications standpoint, I admire the attempt to capture the national sentiment but personally found the ad’s execution to be a stylized retread of concepts tried by other manufacturers.

Chrysler followed with a similar theme but in my view a far superior result.  They cast their Americanism not defensively as foreign companies often do, but as a strength drawn from its Detroit roots. In Eminem they found an undeniably authentic representative that stood out from the composite sketch drawn via the employees of BMW.  The car actually looked good too, and the tagline “Imported from Detroit” took the ad from great to sick (it’d also make a good t-shirt for Lions road games if the Ford family didn’t own the team).

No less than the NFL itself was on this trend as well – beginning the broadcast with its most dramatic annual reading of the Declaration of Independence yet and titling its own ad of iconic American television shows, “Brand America.”

So as corporations seek to compete in this newly patriotic communications environment, last night’s telecast taught us more than just not to hire Christina Aguilera as your company spokesperson.  It showed that when seeking support based on sense of country, the most effective message doesn’t include facts and figures about your employees or facilities, but your ability to reflect American values.  Chrysler didn’t focus on the number of jobs they create, but the resiliency, conviction, and ability shared with its hometown.   It’s ironic because in the not-so-distant past American automakers’ messages lacked authenticity when rattling performance statistics to keep up with imported brands who used their own traditions to invoke the feeling of luxury that prevailed at that time.

The message mavens at the White House now seem to get this as well. After failing to breakthrough with specific numbers around health care or job creation in the midterm campaign, Obama has appealed to American values during recent speeches in Tucson and at the State of the Union.  Indeed, I think we can expect debates on many issues important to corporations — such as, immigration, environmental regulation, and economic investments — to turn on this powerful source of connection.

So, whether you’re launching products like Chrysler and BMW, girding for a labor fight like the NFL, fighting for regulatory reform, or competing for contracts and investments, communicators can expect a healthy dose of patriotism to enter the conversation. When you see it, make sure you provide your stakeholders with an American story and not a fact sheet.

Are you noticing a trend in “American” messaging?  And if not, what stuck out to you from the Super Bowl?