Jeep reinstated its Super Bowl commercial starring Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday shortly after prosecutors dropped charges they brought against the musician of drunken and reckless driving.
Mr. Springsteen was arrested on the charges in November, but the incident went unreported until after Jeep debuted a commercial during the Super Bowl this month starring the “Born to Run” singer.
Jeep subsequently pulled the two-minute ad from YouTube and other platforms not long after reports about the arrest emerged on Feb. 10, three days after it first aired on Super Bowl Sunday.
Two weeks later, the automaker re-uploaded the video soon after prosecutors dropped the charges of drunken driving and reckless driving against Mr. Springsteen during a court hearing Wednesday.
“As we stated previously, we paused the commercial until the facts were established. Now, that the matter has been resolved, we are unpausing the film,” said a Jeep spokesperson.
Mr. Springsteen, 71, pleaded guilty to a third charge he faced, consuming alcohol in a restricted area, but the other two were dropped.
Police had arrested Mr. Springsteen, a 20-time Grammy winner, in Gateway National Recreation Area in his home state of New Jersey. The park is on federal land and he was charged in federal court.
In a statement of probable cause filed in federal court, the arresting officer said they saw Mr. Springsteen consume a shot of tequila and then get on his motorcycle and start its engine. The officer said that Mr. Springsteen acknowledged at the time to having consumed two shots of tequila in the previous 20 minutes but refused to submit to a preliminary breathalyzer test.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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