Farmers Win the Super Bowl: 5 Ag-Related Spots from the Big Game

That might have something to do with the last year’s unforgettable “So God Made a Farmer Ad” for Dodge Ram. For two-minutes of mass marketing bliss last year, radio legend Paul Harvey narrated a slideshow farmers praying, working and living. When the ad ended with a last bit of copy — “For the farmer in all of us” — you could just about hear the nachos drop from the collective mouth of the nation. Adweek called it the best spot of the game.

Madison Avenue must have been paying attention to Ram’s success. This year’s ads appeared to have traded the regular slew of busty babes and talking animals for images of farms and farmers. Here are our five favorites from most farmy to least.

1. “Romance” for Chevy Silverado

Love takes many forms. For a man, love might mean the low rumble of a truck at the turn of an ignition. For a Hereford stud, it might be that moment the holding gate opens to a harem of eager cows.

Chevy Silverado brings the two together in “Romance,” which shows a cattleman hauling one lucky bovine bachelor to a romantic rendezvous. Ranchers might appreciate (or scrutinize) the images of modern cowboy life, but most will likely remember the ad for it’s last moment when the bull finally meets his lucky ladies. It’s not pretty, but who couldn’t call it love?

2. “A Mother’s Love” for Monsanto

You can almost hear Don Draper advising Monsanto: “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation.” Sure, he isn’t a real ad man, but his words seem to be the animating advice behind Monsanto’s Super Bowl spot.

To say the least, Monsanto’s brand does not have the best standing with certain sections of the American public. But rather than discussing monoculture or GMOs, the ad finds a point of contact between the nation’s food producers and consumers. Because 96 percent of the nation’s farms are family owned, mom is CEO on either side of the urban-rural divide. Motherhood bridges the gap.

The ad makes its case with a split screen. On one side is a urban mom from Denver. On the other is Debbie Lyons-Blythe — a real life Kansas cattle woman who regularly blogs about life on the farm. While their settings differ, they each protect the home, work hard and help their children learn to face the world. It’s a clever point when many of the urbanites most worried about industrial agriculture are the moms who do the grocery shopping.

3. “Puppy Love” for Budweiser

Warning: the following ad contains overwhelming cuteness.

The spot for Budweiser tells the story of a 10-week-old puppy who keeps escaping his adoption center to spend time with his Clydesdale buddy. After repeat trips, the Clydesdale trainer starts to drive the doggy home when his horses blockade the road so playtime can continue. Incidentally, they start a budding romance. The ad ends with the trainer and the woman in charge of the adoption center watching each of their animals play.

It’s cheesy and unlike the first two, the farm is more of a setting than a subject. But try to look at that puppy without devolving into pathetic baby noises. Just try.

4. “Terry Crews and the Muppets” for Toyota Highlander

The message from this commercial? If you are a former NFL-player-turned-actor, don’t pull over to help the Muppets with their van. They will hijack you car and take you on a wild ride that includes stop at a senior center bingo game, a concert, a vineyard, a trip to Rio de Janiero and, of course, a farm.

It was the last bit that stood out for Terrel Crews, who ends the ad shirtless with his head out of the sunroof of his Highlander. “There were chicken and singing vegetables!” he yells. Indeed, that is about all this ad has to do with farming. But, heck — there are chickens and singing vegetables!

5. “Don Cheadle and Lily the Llama” for Bud Light

Bud Light used this Super Bowl to introduce a new slogan: “The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens.” Apparently part of what happens includes Don Cheadle and a Llama named Lily. It also includes Arnold Schwarzenegger playing ping pong, a random One Republic concert and a suit from Minka Kelly.

If those things don’t make much sense together, don’t worry — that is the point. For its “Epic Nights” commercial, Bud Light surprised a Joe-Schmo named Ian with a night worthy of a buddy comedy. And how epic could a night be without a random farm animal?

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