If you’ve tagged along on my social media feeds for very long, you’ll note that I’m a big fan of regional country music out of Oklahoma and Texas. After all, Stillwater, the home of my alma mater, is the origination of Red Dirt music. So a new ad from Chevy Silverado caught my ear with an anthem from Texas regional music artist, Will Hoge.
“Strong” is an original from Hoge and his writing partners, then Chevrolet contacted them about using the song in a new ad campaign. The advertisement was released in a very patriotic way on July 4th in Texas markets and aired nationally during this week’s MLB Home Run Derby. The video features many rural, hard-working Americans – lumber mill workers, metal fabricators, farmers, ranchers, and families at the local ball park – many of which Chevy cites as being real Silverado owners.
The ad is reminiscent of Chrysler’s Ram Truck Superbowl campaign which featured Paul Harvey’s So God Made A Farmer. That campaign did a lot to promote America’s Farmers and Ranchers, along with a campaign to support FFA programs. I don’t think this ad will have quite the emotional, pull-at-the-heart-strings response as Chrysler’s, but it is great to see rural Americans featured in national campaigns.
Ford F-150, I reckon you’re next up at the plate. We’ll be waiting for your ad featuring rural America.
Update: Ah, I kind of stand corrected (my apologies Ford). According to this page at Farms.com, both Ford and Toyota have featured farming and rural America in ad campaigns, though neither have received the attention of Dodge Ram’s work.
