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Superbowl: The Big Picture;

Aired February 04, 2013 - 15:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: The Super Bowl isn't just a football game, really. Let's be honest, it is a cultural phenomenon.

Let's talk about the big stories, the big picture here beyond just the game itself. You had the blackout. You have now the ratings which we have just learned and the lovely Beyonce.

I am joined from Washington by John Murray, entertainment journalist and all-around pop culture expert who I hear was in New Orleans. We will talk about that. Also, Lauren Ashburn, the editor in chief of The Daily Download. And in Atlanta today, my friend Monte Durham, the fashion director and stylist for TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta."

Hello, all of you.

Lauren, let me begin with you,because you have the blackout, something like 35 minutes. We hear the ratings now, 108 million viewers. This is the third most watched Super Bowl, down from the last two.

You think the blackout helped or hurt the game in the ratings?

LAUREN ASHBURN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, DAILY-DOWNLOAD.COM: Actually, at the very beginning, I thought it was going to hurt. I thought, oh, boy, the first half was lousy, now the blackout. And I thought, you know, CBS would be in big trouble losing a lot of ratings.

Although, it seemed like it was a party thing. People were now laughing and talking, what's going to happen with the blackout?

And then you had this great third and fourth quarter where the game actually was a game. And it probably did more help than it did harm.

Although I do think, Brooke, that they should have come out with more information than they did. You know, they wrote off the terrorist threat right away.

But then it was like your cable company, you call your cable company, you say when is it going to be on?

BALDWIN: Let me get to that. Because there has been some criticism on CBS today, the failure to really go into reporting mode, right? So, let me quote Bob Raissman, sports columnist for "The New York Daily News." This is part of what he wrote today.

"There was no outrage, no questioning how a thing like this could happen on the NFL's biggest night of the year."

He goes on, "No, that ain't the way it works. The idea is to find an NFL suit, stick a microphone in his or her face and ask the following question, what the hell is going on?"

John (ph), do you agree?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, Brooke. Give us an NFL official, but I was wondering why didn't they roll the stage back out there to have Destiny's Child sing a cappella or something.

BALDWIN: They probably didn't have the power for it, John (ph). Didn't have the power for it.

Lauren, do you agree? Is this fair criticism on CBS?

ASHBURN: You know, I talked -- I e-mailed with Jeff Fager who's the president of CBS News. And he said, you have to remember that CBS Sports is not a news organization.

If they're not making themselves available, if reporters are asking -- sports reporters are asking and they are not answering, there's only so much you can do.

BALDWIN: Let me play some sound. This is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODDELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: There is no indication at all that this was caused by the halftime show. Absolutely none.

So, I know that's been out there, to say that Beyonce's halftime show had something to do with it, that is not the case from anything we have at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Monte Durham, it was -- I don't know if you saw the tweets during the blackout. It was not Beyonce. It was not Beyonce's blow-dryer that killed the lights.

Tell me, what did you think about what she was wearing, that leather thing?

MONTE DURHAM, FASHION DIRECTOR: Well, you know, when she first stepped out, I'm thinking, Catwoman? You know? It took me back a little bit.

But you got to remember, I mean, she is an entertainer. And, if you're going to entertain, this is where you need to pull out all the stops.

And, you know, luckily there was no wardrobe malfunction with this, but I think she gave a good show here. And I think, you know, she played appropriately dressed to what she was singing and what she was doing. And I think she looked like a true star, rock 'n' roll here.

I mean, I think she pulled out all the stops. A lot of people are talking and, you know, Marilyn Monroe used to say, if I go out and nobody's talking, then I haven't done a good job.

ASHBURN: I think people would have talked anyway, Brooke.

But the problem is you're sitting there -- were you sitting there watching this with a six-year-old daughter or a seven-year-old daughter?

BALDWIN: I was watching last night and people I were sitting with were saying, this is a little sexy for Sunday night.

ASHBURN: A little inappropriate.

DURHAM: What did you expect from Beyonce? She's an entertainer and, if you know she's going to play put a ring on it, you know what she does.

I mean, in her past entertainment, we can surely much assure that, when she comes out, there is going to be a lot of movement, it is going to be skanky, and it is going to be entertaining whether --

BALDWIN: John (ph), let me get you to weigh in on this because not only --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What she had on, Brooke, was no different than what the cheerleaders would have worn.

BALDWIN: Well, John (ph), also, she's she singing. She's dancing. There was much ado, some would say, about nothing, when it came to the inauguration voice track controversy.

Are we moving past that now, John?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly. Thursday, Brooke -- I know you were on live right after it -- she handled it -- it was a master class of public relations, the way she handled that controversy at her NFL press conference.

DURHAM: Agreed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sang all the way live. It was wonderful 13 minutes. She typically sings live.

It was a great vocal presentation, great musicianship, great tone, great singing. You couldn't ask for anything more.

ASHBURN: I disagree. BALDWIN: You disagree. Go ahead, Lauren.

ASHBURN: I don't think that the voice was great. I was sitting in a room full of people who were saying, wow, this doesn't sound good, she doesn't sound great and a lot of people were saying, hey, bring on the lip-synching. We would have gotten a better performance.

BALDWIN: I have to say I did love a little Destiny's Child, but I feel like you have performances and then you have the Super Bowl.

I was almost expecting Jay-Z to pop out with fireworks behind him. Was anyone else disappointed he didn't show up?

DURHAM: A little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have liked to have seen him. I know he was backstage. They posted a photo online right after the performance.

But, look, it was Beyonce's night and he likes to let her shine and do her own thing.

DURHAM: Absolutely.

ASHBURN: That's a good man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She put it together, she arranged it and I don't care what Lauren says, she sounded amazing. I can get an ear doctor to help you and all of your friends.

ASHBURN: You don't care what I said?

BALDWIN: Hey, quickly, all three of you, prediction time, who would all three of you love to see perform next year at the halftime show.

Lauren, beginning with you?

ASHBURN: Oh, that's terrible. U2. I love U2.

BALDWIN: You like U2.

ASHBURN: I would be in for that, yes.

BALDWIN: All right, Monty, who would you like to see?

ASHBURN: Well, you know, I'm an oldie but goodie. I would say let's bring Cher back. Let's see what she can do for us. I'd like to see her do something for it.

BALDWIN: John (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote New edition. I love New Edition. They are The Beatles of my generation. Bring New Edition to New Jersey next year.

BALDWIN: New Edition, they've been making a comeback. Who knew?

All right, stand by, everyone. We've got to talk Super Bowl ads. A hit or miss this year? Wait until you see this new technology. This is pretty cool. It judged audience reaction. We're talking physiology here in real time. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The thing about the super bowl is that every minute counts on and off the clock. And, so if you're not watching the passes, you're engrossed by the pitches, the ads.

This year, 30 seconds of commercial time translated to $4 million in terms of cost. Just think about that, 30 seconds, four million bucks.

So, which ads scored big? We've got the man with some answers here, Brian Levine with Interscope Research. Welcome, sir.

BRIAN LEVINE, PRESIDENT, INNERSCOPE RESEARCH INC.: Glad to be here.

BALDWIN: Explain what you guys did because it is a pretty unique way, right, of putting these -- what is it you put on people?

LEVINE: So, we basically have -- it's like a heart rate monitor, but it measures some extra things.

It can tell how excited you are. It can tell are you holding your breath when you're tense. Are you laughing? Are you leaning into your content? Are you getting excited?

Every single moment of every single ad during the Super Bowl last night.

BALDWIN: So, from what your people told our people, it is the Budweiser Clydesdale ad that really resonated as number one.

So, in case you haven't seen it, let's roll part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVIE NICKS, SINGER: Took my love, took it down, climbed a mountain and I turned around. Well, I've -- take my love, take it down. And if you see my reflection in a snow-covered hill, well, a landslide will bring it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I mean, my goodness, first of all, if you're going to play a little "Landslide," I'm already getting a little misty-eyed as it is, right?

But watching that, what was it you think that resonated so much?

LEVINE: You know, it was really the ending moment. If this had been in any other event than the Super Bowl, people wouldn't have necessarily given it the time they gave it.

You're sitting there. You're watching the ads, what takes you on this entire journey that by the end you've been built up so much that you feel it and feel that moment. You feel that connection and it is right where the Budweiser logo comes up and feeling good about what's gone on.

BALDWIN: You know, my -- one of my favorite ads I thought was so poignant with all the imagery was the farmers' ad. At the end -- only at the end, you figure out it's for Dodge, right, because you see the truck there.

And it's this voice, Paul Harvey, who's this radio -- conservative radio host. Actually, the voice track you hear was from a speech he gave, I believe it was, back in 1978.

Let's watch a little bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HARVEY (voice-over): And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, I need a caretaker, so God made a farmer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You know, I've been reading some of the criticism, though, of this ad. So folks are saying many Americans don't know who Paul Harvey is, therefore they wouldn't get the significance maybe of this speech.

But I think it doesn't matter. You listen to his words, right?

LEVINE: Right. And I think Chrysler over the past couple of years has been introducing this kind of more grounded element to the Super Bowl ads.

And this year, we look at the top ads altogether, we have things like this Paul Harvey ad, but so many of them, Doritos, you actually have a dad dressing up with his daughter or you have kids, you know, forming a football team.

And I think actually Chrysler changed the tone of some of the Super Bowl advertising altogether and not making it all shock and awe, but maybe making it more about people and what can they can accomplish and keep moving it that way.

BALDWIN: John (ph), Lauren, Monte, let me bring you back in.

And, first, just let me say on that Dodge ad, when you do the math, which I did quickly earlier, if we're talking $4 million and this is, what, 30 seconds, that was a two-minute ad. That is a $16 million ad. That doesn't even include the making of the ad.

John (ph), what was your favorite ad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I liked the Taco Bell commercial with the --

BALDWIN: The retirees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the veteran people, the retirees.

I would have liked to have seen a few celebrities tossed in there, maybe like Barbara Walters or Marla Gibbs and Larry King.

But I thought it was hilarious. I could see it as like a mock- umentary on television.

BALDWIN: I kept thinking "Cocoon" off the top. You guys remember that old movie, "Cocoon?"

Lauren what was your favorite?

ASHBURN: My friends were saying that's going to be us in 50 years, having a good time.

But I love the Clydesdale one and that was also the top of the "USA Today" ad-meter pick.

That one, to me, just pulled at my heart strings and made me teary and I wanted to see the reunion. And I agree with your panelists who said, I probably would not have sat through that whole thing had I not been at a Super Bowl party.

BALDWIN: It's interesting.

Did anything not work for you all?

DURHAM: No. I think --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Daddy. Go Daddy.

DURHAM: I think the Budweiser was actually the most poignant one. And I think, you know, as an animal activist myself, I think when you look back at that, the connection between that and whether you're in love with an animal or another person or you're just touching and embracing, and to see that return, I think the tragedies that have taken place here in the U.S. here recently, I think it is good to see that and we're pulling back into more family. We're going to take care of ourselves. We're going to take care of things around us. And I think this --

BALDWIN: Actually, I want to go back to John (ph) because I feel like you're about to disagree with everyone, which I love.

Twenty second, John (ph), you're about to not give love to Go Daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did not work. Go Daddy was gross. It was hideous. It freaked me out. It was ineffective. Bring back Joan Rivers. That worked.

BALDWIN: The make-out sesh? Yeah, that didn't work for me really either.

All right, coming up next, we're going add some voices here to the panel and we're going to talk about this picture, good idea or PR fail? Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As the debate on gun resonates around the country, just about an hour ago, President Obama -- here he was, speaking in Minneapolis, outlining his plans to tackle the problem of gun violence, saying, quote, "We don't have to agree on everything to agree it is time to do something."

I am joined again by Lauren Ashburn, the editor-in-chief of Daily Download. She is in Washington, D.C.

Also HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks joins me from Atlanta.

And Paul Barrett is here with me in New York. He is the author of "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun" and also editor of "Bloomberg Business Week" here.

So, welcome to all of you. Let's begin here with Paul. The fact that the president -- here he is -- in Minneapolis, you know, saying Congress must act, but using Minneapolis as his example, right, specifically talking about youth gun violence and now -- and law enforcement, they want to -- he says you should have a seat at the table in terms of this discussion as well.

What do you make of just what he said today?

PAUL BARRETT, AUTHOR, "GLOCK: THE RISE OF AMERICA'S GUN": Well, two things. One, the president is trying to turn the gun control debate into something having to do with law enforcement which really drains the controversy from it. It's a smart political move, but if this is --

BALDWIN: How does it drain it?

BARRETT: Well, because no one is against law enforcement. The NRA, which is against all forms of gun control, is not against law enforcement.

But if this were really what the debate were about, we wouldn't be having a debate.

So, in a sense, he's kind of changing the topic away from this very controversial proposals, assault weapons ban, magazine-capacity ban, and switching it over to "we all love the cops," which is fine, but I'm not sure how far it gets you in the congressional debate.

BALDWIN: Mike Brooks, let me go to you.

As a -- you know, worked as a cop for many, many years on the beat and especially working in Minneapolis and here we are, the backdrop.

As the president is pointing out, you know, there was quite a bit of gun violence, especially when it comes to Minneapolis youth, and then they, you know, instigated these youth initiatives, talked about how the numbers went down some 40 percent.

Did you see that when you were there?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I was a cop in D.C., but, first of all, I think you ought to be in Chicago with Rahm Emanuel, talking about what they need to do about youth gun violence.

I used to substitute on radio talk show there in Minneapolis for a while, Brooke, and I tell you, if you ran out of anything to talk about, just mention guns and the phones would light up because people in Minnesota both in the city, St. Paul, and in the rural area, which is just, you know, a short distance outside the town, they're very, very passionate about their guns.

BALDWIN: Do we have some sound, guys, from the president we can play?

I believe we do. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tell them there's no legislation to eliminate all guns. There's no legislation being proposed to subvert the Second Amendment.

Tell them specifically what we're talking about, things that the majority of Americans, when they're asked, support. And tell them now is the time for action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The president there in Minneapolis -- just looking down at my notes -- when he was speaking, saying Congress must act.

He talked again about the universal background checks, talked about the ban on assault-style weapons, talked about the 10-round limit on magazines.

Paul, my question to you, realistically, what could get through?

BARRETT: Well, I think the proposal of those three that you've just mentioned that has the best chance is the universal background check. I think there's pretty broad agreement.

But I think that people are even overconfident about that. I think a month or two or three from now, we could easily end up in the House of Representatives with even that bogged down in the almost poisonous politics that surrounds the gun debate in our country.

BALDWIN: Lauren Ashburn, I want to bring you into the conversation and, in doing so, let's throw the picture up. This is a picture that the White House released over the weekend. And it is just part of the conversation, so I wanted to ask you about this because you see the president at Camp David. It was taken back in August as he was skeet shooting.

Talked to "The New Republic" recently, said, yes, I've fired a gun. You know, since then, there's been skepticism and criticism.

When you see this picture, good move for the White House to release this?

ASHBURN: Well, I was listening to you talk to Wolf Blitzer earlier and Wolf said, why didn't the White House release this picture as soon as he gave "The New Republic" interview where he said, yes, I skeet shoot all the time.

And I think the answer is that he wanted it to be on the front page of every Sunday newspaper in America, which it was, including "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post."

So, in terms of a p.r. move, timing-wise, yes, I think it was good. Why, though, does the president have to continue to play this game? OK, I said I skeet shoot. Now, I'm going to show you the picture.

Then comes the controversy. Then come the conspiracy theories. And he doesn't have to do this. He said he did it. It should be believed.

BALDWIN: You say he's pandering as a pseudo-shooter?

BARRETT: I think whenever you see a middle-of-the-road politician sort of conspicuously posing with a firearm, that's what's going on.

I mean, Mitt Romney did it talking about the varmints that he shot.

BALDWIN: John Kerry did it in his camouflage.

BARRETT: Exactly. And this is no different.

As a citizen, as a voter, it depresses me a little bit. I never like to see this kind of theater.

BALDWIN: Paul Barrett, Mike Brooks, Lauren Ashburn.

Hang tight, Mike, we're going to talk to you more after the break. I've got more.

I've got more coming for you because we want to talk, coming up, about the police possibly changing tactics in this hostage situation still ongoing in Alabama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to bring Lauren Ashburn, the editor of Daily Download, back in and Mike Brooks, our HLN law enforcement analyst.

Switching tactics, though, talking about this hostage situation now been going on in Dale County, Alabama, for a week.

You have this 65-year-old, Jimmy Lee Dykes, who's apparently keeping this five-year-old -- he's turning six this week -- down in an underground bunker here.

The child is a special needs child, needs medication. Apparently, Dykes and police have been in cooperation.

In fact, it seems like police are almost -- I don't want to go as far as saying praising this man, but sort of being kind to him publicly. Why?

BROOKS: Well, if there's ongoing negotiations, if you've got a dialogue going, I tell you, why be nasty? Why push it?

Because they know that the little boy, as of right now, Brooke, he is not being harmed.

Now, do they have a plan? Do they think he's in imminent danger? That they'll go with? Absolutely.

But as long as he's talking, they're listening. Because every time he gets medicine in, they get food in, Hot Wheels car, it's all negotiated.

BALDWIN: Right, he's getting medication, he's getting Cheetos, he's getting crayons and coloring books.

Lauren, what do you make of this?

ASHBURN: You know, a lot of people have said that the media are making this worse by camping out there, by covering this, day after day, that there's a possibility that he may be watching all of this coverage and enjoying the fact that it is being covered so much.

And, Mike, it's been a long time since you and I were on the streets of Washington, D.C., together, covering things like this.

I'm interviewing you, and I think you would agree, Mike, that the media play a valuable role when it comes to keeping the information alive and keeping that little boy alive.

BROOKS: They do, but people want to know -- they've got a little boy's life hanging in the balance.

BALDWIN: I just can't help but think about the mother, the parents, who, you know, in a lot of these kidnapping situations, you don't know where your child is.

In this case, you know precisely where your child is and you cannot go find him.

Got to get a quick break in. Lauren Ashburn, Mike Brooks, thanks, you two.

BROOKS: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Twenty seconds before the closing bell. Let's get a quick sneak peek of this together.

The Dow down 137 points. Remember Friday was the big day, was the big rally. It was the first time the Dow Jones had closed above that 14,000 mark since really the height back in 2007.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for being with me.

I'm in New York for the day. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning on "STARTING POINT."

Here now is Wolf Blitzer. Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Brooke, thanks very much.