If there truly is consumer yearning for honesty, craftsmanship, and simpler times, the posers will be called out, the genuine will thrive, and the Jeep commercial will be right.

"The things that make us American are the things that we make. This has always been a nation of builders, craftsmen."

So begins the new commercial for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It pulls on the strings of the heart for sure, transporting us to an imaginary America built with artisan hammers and nails. There's been an interesting recent obsession with authenticity and American pride.

Dodge took a wackier, FREEDOM!! approach:

Levi's built their entire new campaign on earthy blue-collar goodness:

In a different approach, big chain establishments are scribbling everywhere to appear smaller and more personal:

Over the past year, J. Crew's been building carefully curated partnerships with classic brands like Ray-Ban, Timex, Levi's:

It's interesting that in the last decade, we were obsessed with bigger and global-er. Who knows, maybe it was the recession that pushed us in this direction of national pride, DIY, back-to-basics. The phenomenon started on the sidelines with small businesses and individuals, but is now making huge waves in the mainstream.

Not everyone has substance to back up their claims of authenticity. But if there truly is consumer yearning for honesty, craftsmanship, and simpler times, the posers will be called out, the genuine will thrive, and the Jeep commercial will be right:

"As a people, we do well when we make good things and not so well when we don't. The good news is, this can be put right. We just have to do it."

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