Each year the Super Bowl produces ads that in some way speak to the vast audience watching the game. One ad that was not at the top, but that spoke to me was for Ram trucks. It wasn’t the brand, but the voice of Paul Harvey and the topic “farmers” that drew my interest. Having grown up on the farm and having spent years listening to Paul Harvey tell the news, the ad tugged at my emotions. While the ad had this impact on me, what impact did it have on students, young people in general, and those who are not in any way tied to a farm?
(This Super Bowl ad was produced by The Richards Group. This agency is featured in Chapter 5 in the opening vignette. A number of ads produced by The Richards Group are also in the textbook.)
Teaching Suggestions:
- Ask students their image of a farmer. You may want to put some adjectives or descriptors on a board that are suggested.
- Take a poll of how many saw the Ram ad during the Super Bowl that describes farmers. See what details they can recall.
- Show the Ram truck ad.
- Ask students for their reactions and if the ad changed their images of a farmer.
- Ask students who the target market is for the ad and the impact it would have on that target market.
Clow/Baack 