Superbowl Ad: God Made a Farmer
posted by Jenna at 8:39 AM
Monday, February 4, 2013
About Me
- Name: Jenna
- Location: Jackson, New York, United States
Enjoy the story of a young writer living in Washington County with her fancy dogs, sheep, lots of chickens, fiber & meat rabbits, geese, ducks, turkeys, a hive and a garden. Expect to hear a lot about mountain music, the civil war, local food, and my friends along the way. It's a big time folks.
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29 Comments:
nice...except for the stinkin' hog factory in the last frame.
nice...except for the stinkin' hog factory in the last frame.
Don't miss the FFA "Keep Farming" tag at the very, very end.
this was my favortie commercial, from last night.
Amen and amen
Loved it. Wasn't sure if I should cry or grin with pride.
Take that Monsanto!!!!!!!!! You can't keep good farmers down & now more & more people are recognizing how important REAL farmers are to our future & our past. Keep on farming.
I thought it was dumb. The words, meant to invoke memories of farmers two or three generations ago, rang hollow when voiced over the images (for the most part but not all) of modern agri-business. Tractors the size of houses, fields planted from horizon to horizon, plowed rows so straight they could have only come from GPS guided tractors. Weed free rows thanks to RR/GMO crops - what a crock!
Edward Bernays would have proud.
I thought it was dumb. The words, meant to invoke memories of farmers two or three generations ago, rang hollow when voiced over the images (for the most part but not all) of modern agri-business. Tractors the size of houses, fields planted from horizon to horizon, plowed rows so straight they could have only come from GPS guided tractors. Weed free rows thanks to RR/GMO crops - what a crock!
Edward Bernays would have proud.
Sorry is this a double post, Google doesn't make it very clear as whether you comment has been sent or not.
When I saw this ad last evening, Jenna, I thought of you.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is the video that Dodge based their commercial on, and in my opinion, the original is far better. The entire time, I could not help but think of my grandfather and my family for generations going back; I cried.
LOVED this ad.
I was watching the comercials last night and at that one my husband looked up and said "Jenna will post it tomorrow."
Honesty, as someone who worked in marketing in my youth, I know exactly how this meeting went to create this commercial. It's so heavily manipulative that it makes me cringe a little. Everyone should picture a bunch of people in expensive business clothing drinking over priced coffee saying: "Okay we've done the sexy chicks, cute kids, new born animals and funny dad commercials. What's left to make people laugh or cry? "I know !", pipes up a Hipster Marketer: "Farming is really hot right now, everyone who can't pay off their student loan wants to be a farmer, everyone who hates their job dreams of escaping to self-sufficency, everyone who is tired of Walmart is going to the farmers' market with their reusable bags. Farmers are the feel good icon of the moment. Let's do something really tear jerky and even throw in some old time religion". The Boss Man looks at this young marketer and said "Youngster you just got yourself a raise. Go make America cry! And whatever you do, don't mention Monsanto or Cargil"
Paul Harvey was a masterful and generous contributor. God bless and keep him.
Held my breath until it was revealed to be a truck, not Monsanto... it is a nice bit by Paul Harvey from 1978.
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Guys,
I am well aware that this is the work of a corporation using emotion and nostalgia to tug at our heartstrings. I also am aware of the feedlots and monsanto corn in the ad. I don't care.
It may be a ploy, and it may be a stunt, but the fact remains that an American company decided to pay for 2 minutes of superbowl television space to introduce millions of people, MILLIONS, to Mr. Harvey. And while not everyone in this ad was a sustainable farmer, they are still the images of people who grow and produce food for our friends and family. I think it was nice, and liked it, and I am okay with being emotionally toyed with from time to time. I didn't see an ad by Ford or Toyota that made me happy to own their truck. I do drive a dodge, and I am a farmer, and I'm happy about both those things.
I loved it and cried and it is okay to be emotionally played with because it brought to the front the plight of the farmer to millions.
I am working on my farm business plan now and planning out my different "farm enterprises" for my beginning farmer/rancher course I am taking this year from the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. It's not easy to pull this all together organically in Oklahoma. It's not easy being a farmer.
Rosann... who is proud to be a farmer in Oklahoma...
It falls on the observer to have a willing suspensionof disbelief. Nothing wrong with having a tear come to the eye, and it is also not surprising for country folk to keep a good bit of skepticism at the ready for just such an occasion. For me personally, the path diverged in the woods, and I took this branch. I think I see Wendell Berry and Gene Logsdon up ahead, and my grandfather with a lantern.
I LOVED that commercial. I was sitting in the kitchen doing homework and I heard it playing and got up, walked into the living to check it out.
Damn proud of it and damn proud we own a DODGE RAM too!!!
Where were all the minorities in that ad? Latinos make up more than half of the agricultural workforce. It would have been nice to see a non-white face.
But I still cried, and recognized Paul's voice right away. I had to explain to my high school students that it wasn't some ex-president's speech. I'm not sure they understood my explanation of radio. So sad.
I posted it right away...one of my friends said within 20 seconds...all he could think about was ...I don't want to be a farmer.
..too much work. I LOVED the commercial..first impression. After a bit though...it made me uncomfortable with the manipulation.
I was more successfully manipulated by the Clydesdales.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o2prAccclXs
And they´re soliciting names for the new foal!
I was conflicted. Not for some of the more obvious reasons, but I was a little disgruntled at the lack of women featured (most of the local farmers I know from the market are women) and also how white-washed the pictures were. Where were the Hispanic populations, those that keep the modern farms rolling? I believe that not quite half of all farmers in 2010 were Hispanic.
My dad's farm has been in his family for at least four generations. He didn't see the ad because he doesn't have time to watch sports and can't sit still or stay awake long enough to watch much TV. And if he did see the ad, I would bet you the cost of running the ad that he wouldn't be moved by it at all. He's way too tough to cry over an ad. He's a farmer.
I think this ad gave/gives folks two minutes of "magical thinking" about farming. Nothing wrong about that per se, we all need to have some of that in our lives and that's what they make commercials for. But someone should remind the ad agency about Truth in Advertising laws. Plenty of irony to go around, eh?
Jenna - Thanks for posting the ad (as I don't have a TV). I like the ad. Paul Harvey was eloquent and the farm images were strikingly beautiful.
I think Jon Katz's post on this ad, on the Bedlam Farm blog, summed things up quite nicely.
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