The inspiration for RAM’s ‘Farmer’ spot

RAM's "Farmer" commercial continued Chrysler's streak of winning and heartfelt two-minute Super Bowl spots.

But while RAM is getting a lot of credit, some of it should go to Farms.com. The RAM commercial is very similar (almost identical) to a promotion created by Farms.com back in 2011. That version uses the same 1978 Paul Harvey monologue over a montage of farmer images. But contrary to early reports, RAM didn't rip off the spot: The car company worked in partnership with Farms.com to produce the remake.

Here's the original version as seen on Farms.com:

We spoke with Denise Faguy, communications specialist at Farms.com, about how the RAM spot came to be. "Chrysler approached Farms.com, acknowledging our existing video as their inspiration," she said. "Since they both use the Paul Harvey audio as inspiration, it is not surprising that the photo collages created would be similar," she said.

"The positive exposure for the industry is well deserved and refreshing. The agriculture industry is not frequently recognized by the mainstream media in a positive light," she continued.

From Farms.com:

For those who missed the Super Bowl, the two-minute RAM ad featured late radio broadcaster Harvey extolling the virtues of farmers. "On the eighth day, God made a farmer," Harvey says, before listing the myriad thankless tasks a farmer must endure. A montage of photos featuring farmers and their families accompanies Harvey's voice. The ad ends with an image of a Ram pickup and the tagline, "To the farmer in all of us."

Twitter feedback on the ad was very positive. Actor Gary Sinese tweeted, "Paul Harvey was one of a kind. Brilliant use of 'So God made a farmer.' Great tribute to the American farmer. Wonderful ad." @MattTalksTennis wrote, "#bestad was the (RAM) 'God made a farmer' commercial. Makes you remember who fuels this country everyday. Powerful and sentimental." And @KNegandhiESPN wrote, "'God made a farmer.' Paul Harvey sure commanded this room. Great commercial."

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Some detractors found the spot to be overly sentimental, but most viewers were fans. One Yahoo! user wrote, "I cried. My husband is a Farmer. Thank God for the Farmer.... Thank God for my Farmer..." Another wrote, "I could listen to this every day. It's as classic sounding as a Johnny Cash song." Another posted, "Best Commercial in a long while, and I am a Ford truck lady but Dodge, You Did The Best!"