When Ram aired its two-minute " Farmer " commercial during Super Bowl XLVII, the Chrysler division pledged to make a donation to the National FFA Organization for each view of the ad, which was posted on YouTube .
Chrysler today reported the milestone of ten million views was reached in less than a week, triggering a millon-dollar gift to the FFA. As of today, total views exceed 18 million.
“The compelling images in the video of America’s heartland mated with Harvey’s 'So God Made a Farmer’ words resonated with viewers nationwide,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer. “We set out to create a call-to-action to support farmers and to recognize their place as the foundation of the American character and are gratified with the dialog the video sparked.”
“’Farmer’ is about having America appreciate everything that farmers and farm families do on a daily basis and captures the hard work, determination and character of the farmer in all of us,” said Ram CEO Fred Diaz. “We are so pleased and excited that this has touched the hearts and souls of so many people in a positive way.”
The video also launched Ram’s 2013 “The Year of the Farmer” campaign highlighting the American farmer and celebrating Ram's partnership with the National FFA Organization (formerly known as Future Farmers of America). Together with Fiat Industrial agricultural equipment manufacturer Case IH, Farms.com and other partners, Ram set out to raise awareness and generate funds for FFA hunger relief efforts in local communities across America.
“Ram scored a major win for American agriculture and our producers and ranchers with its ‘Farmer' Super Bowl commercial and has sharply elevated the image of agriculture in the public’s mind,” said National FFA Organization CEO Dr. Dwight Armstrong. “This highly successful partnership with Ram through the National FFA Foundation has generated $1 million of new support for FFA that will be utilized to drive our ‘Feeding the World-Starting at Home’ initiative and other programs that will benefit our nearly 560,000 FFA members in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.”
Ram Truck brand has commissioned a book of the photographs produced for the spot, most of which have not been shown. Ram will contribute a portion of book proceeds to agriculture and hunger related efforts across the country. Additional details and timing for the book are still being finalized.
