Depth through photography: key to a memorable Super Bowl ad

As an American super event, the Super Bowl gathers a significant number of spectators and viewers to witness what probably is the most complex event of the year. Bringing together elements from both sports and entertainment, the event is long-expected not only for the thrill of the game, but also for admiring amazing advertising campaigns. 2013 was no exception.

Photo of white chapel, one of the many images put together for the Dodge Ram Truck commercial.

“So God made a farmer“… these are the words that remained on the lips of Super Bowl and advertising fans alike, after viewing what is probably the most compelling and heart warming commercial aired during this year’s Super Bowl.

The power of keeping it simple

For this year’s Dodge Ram Truck ad campaign, the Texas based company The Richards Group decided to go simple, a decision that granted them the admiration of millions. The commercial features a set of more than expressive photos by photographers Kurt Markus and William Albert Allard, that describe the life of a farmer: full of hard work and dedication, simple but beautiful. Images of farmers, lands, tractors or farm animals paint just the right picture of how such hard working people live their lives day after day. Managing to touch even the hearts of those living in the cities who haven’t experienced rural life, Dodge rejects any use of high tech special effects and lets the pictures do the talking. Well, not just the pictures. The voice of an American icon – whose name appears on the first photograph of the collage – can be heard throughout the ad.

“The voice of Middle America”, heard again

The audience gets goose bumps when hearing the voice of radio legend Paul Harvey delivering “So God made a farmer”, a speech held in 1978, more than thirty years later, but with the same impact today: “And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise. He said I need a caretaker. So God made a farmer”. This is, according to Harvey’s speech, the divine purpose of the farmer: to care after God’s legacy. By having the speech join hands with the breath taking images, the viewer watches the ad amazed, not knowing what its marketing purpose is until the end, when the Dodge logo appears.
This makes it seem that it advertises for ideals, for the better in us, instead of a product, which is what makes it the most memorable commercial aired during the 2013 Super Bowl.