Countercultural Super Bowl Ad Breaks Through

Last night’s Super Bowl had a little bit of everything. Brother versus brother. The final game of a controversial league legend. Defensive domination. Offensive power. A stunning comeback. A risky checkdown from run to pass on third and short that may have won the game. A controversial non-call at the end. An electrical blackout, or near enough, that stopped the game for 34 minutes and gave the dying 49ers a chance to get up off the mat. They almost took full advantage of that.

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The ads were mostly forgettable. A few were R-rated, a sign that advertisers have either forgotten that families watch the game together, or that they just don’t care that families watch the game together. A few were funny. Several used massive special effects to get their point across.

And then Dodge shows up with this ad.

“So God made a farmer” was in every way an act of rebellion against the ethos of Super Bowl ads and against the culture of the big game. While most ads go for a joke, this one goes for a sermon. While most push the effects to the limit, this one uses almost nothing but slides. While most use sex, this one uses hard work. Against the glitz of big time sports, Dodge gave us dirt. Against the beauty of super models, Dodge gave us wrinkles on sun-beaten faces, and a photo of a family at prayer.

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It was the most countercultural ad of the night, on a night when even the MVP QB couldn’t keep it clean.

And for all of that, it was easily the most perfect and greatest ad of the night.

Congrats to the Ravens. But thank you, to Dodge. Paul Harvey, for the win.

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