Paul Harvey’s iconic “So God Made a Farmer” speech is getting some renewed attention after it was used by Chrysler in a commercial for the Dodge Ram truck during Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Breaking apart from the typically flashy fare of Super Bowl advertisements, the Chrysler spot instead focused on quieter virtues. Audio of Harvey’s tribute to the hardworking dedication of farmers played against a backdrop of stark images depicting workers toiling in their trade.
ABC News writes that Chrysler chose to run the two minute commercial during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The company commissioned several photographers to capture America’s farm culture for a visual montage. Images by National Geographic ‘s William Albert Allen and Kurt Markus, a noted documentary photographer, can be seen during the spot.
However, it’s the distinctive narration of late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey that seems to be garnering the most attention. Harvey, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 90, originally delivered his “So God Made a Farmer” speech during the 1978 National Future Farmers of America Convention.
Harvey’s touching ode to farm life reads in part:
“God said, ‘I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board. So God made a farmer.”
A statement from Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC, expressed the company’s intentions surrounding the commercial:
“For the past two years, we have used the largest television viewing audience to highlight the pride, the resilience and the determination that form an integral part of the American character.”
An article by The Detroit Free Press reports that the Ram 1500 truck was redesigned in late 2012. It has claimed the title of Motor Trend Truck of the Year as well as being named North American Truck of the Year at the Detroit auto show.
You can watch the Dodge Ram Super Bowl commercial below:
What do you think of the “So God Made a Farmer” Dodge Ram commercial?