14770: Kellogg’s Loves Farmers Down Under; Underrepresented Farmers Are Another Story.

This Kellogg’s campaign stresses the cereal maker’s appreciation and commitment for Aussie farmers. Wonder how much support Kellogg’s has shown to Black farmers. It’s safe to say the dedication is not Gr-r-reat!

14277: Land O’ Fakes.

Adweek spotlighted patronizing propaganda from Land O’ Lakes and The Martin Agency, who celebrated female farmers with a parody version of “Old MacDonald Had A Farm” set to country rock music. This divertsity dreck is offensive on a host of levels. First, the featured farmers are mostly White women. It’s a safe bet that Land O’ Lakes and The Martin Agency are oblivious to the plight—and even the existence—of Black farmers or other minority groups. Second, for a brand to show reverence to female farmers while sporting a stereotypical and controversial Indian Maiden mascot demonstrates pale-faced hypocrisy. Third, for a chronically White advertising agency to salute feminism so soon after being exposed for allegedly engaging in long-term sexual harassment displays ignorant insensitivity. That said, don’t be surprised if the campaign gets submitted for an ADCOLOR® Award, Glass Lion, Athena Award, etc. Award show judges eat this shit up like butter.

Land O’Lakes Spotlights Female Farmers in Its Feminist Reimagining of ‘Old MacDonald Had a Farm’

Maggie Rose and Liz Rose create ‘She-I-O’ for Women’s Equality Day

By Lindsay Rittenhouse

Old MacDonald may have had a farm with a dog, cows and some chickens, but he also had something far more important to keeping said farm running—a daughter. At least according to Land O’Lakes’ “She-I-O,” a reimagined (albeit slightly hokey) version of the classic children’s nursery rhyme sung by country artist Maggie Rose.

The aim of it is to honor the oftentimes invisible female farmers who help feed America. This comes ahead of Women’s Equality Day (Aug. 26) and sends out a critical message: the successful, old, fictionalized farmer MacDonald doesn’t have to be a man.

“She-I-O” debuts with a full music video featuring Maggie Rose and several real female farmers, kicking off a larger campaign, “All Together Better,” from Land O’Lakes, which leaned on a predominantly female team at The Martin Agency to create. The campaign also intends to position Land O’Lakes as the member-owned agricultural cooperative it is, not just the consumer-facing brand of cheeses and butter.

The stars of the music video are members of Land O’Lakes’ cooperative of 1,791 farmers, many of whom the company said are women. In fact, the company said 30 percent of all U.S. farmers are female (like the ones shown in the video waking up at the ass crack of dawn to start work).

Grammy Award-winning songwriter Liz Rose—whose credits appear on various country hits including Taylor Swift’s “Fearless,” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty” and Kenny Chesney’s “Better Boat”—collaborated on “She-I-O.” The video (below) was directed by female powerhouse duo Charlotte Fassler and Dani Girdwood of Similar But Different.

“I’m passionate about the message at the forefront of ‘She-I-O,’ which celebrates the power of inclusivity and the role women play in modern farming,” Maggie Rose said in a statement. “My husband’s family owns a cattle ranch in Missouri, so I’ve had a glimpse into what goes into putting food on our tables. Like so many of us, I grew up singing ‘Old MacDonald.’ Where you hear lines ‘on his farm’ and ‘he had a cow,’ it’s nice to finally add in the other half of the population.”

Anne Marie Hite, senior vice president and creative director at The Martin Agency, noted to Adweek that during briefing sessions with the songwriters, one of the first things to come out of Liz Rose’s mouth was, “Oh my god, MacDonald had a daughter.”

“It became the basis for the whole song,” Hite said, adding that both Liz Rose and Maggie Rose (no relation) were immediately identified as the “perfect” songwriting duo for the project.

“A lot of people picture farmers as men,” Hite said. When The Martin Agency got the call from Land O’Lakes to work on this campaign, she said this “brilliant idea” was sparked to rewrite “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” as “a modern-day, badass female anthem.”

The campaign breaks just one month after Land O’Lakes appointed Beth Ford as its new CEO, where she makes history as the first openly gay woman to sit at the helm of a Fortune 500 company.

Anna Squibb, senior manager of integrated marketing at Land O’Lakes’ Dairy Food Retail division, said it was inspiring to see everyone involved in the campaign “pour their hearts and soul into it”—even the female farmers in the company’s co-op.

“Our farmer members are the most cooperative and easy-to-work-with people,” Squibb added. “They were a little apprehensive at first but when we proposed the idea to have them in the video, they were open to it. … We’re so passionate about sharing their stories.”

According to Hite, the farmers were quite taken aback when the agency showed up with a film crew of 60 members, as they thought there would be five people at most. “They were like, ‘What did we sign up for?’” she said with a laugh.

“She-I-O” debuted on SoundCloud on Tuesday and will be made available on iTunes beginning Friday. The “All Together Better” campaign includes 30- and 60-second TV spots, print executions and “custom digital content,” according to a statement from Land O’Lakes and The Martin Agency.

Land O’Lakes partnered with hunger relief organization Feeding America on the campaign. For every like, share or comment the “She-I-O” video or music track garners on social media, SoundCloud and iTunes, the Land O’Lakes Foundation will donate $1 to Feeding America, capping it at $100,000. Hashtag #AllTogetherBetter is being distributed to help spread the word.

The last component to the campaign is a three-part digital documentary series called “In Their Words,” produced by the Female Farmer Project, that chronicles the personal stories of some of Land O’Lakes’ farmers. [Adweek also posted] the spotlights of Lori, Candice and Amanda (the farmers featured in the music video).

10964: More Dodge RAM Rants.

Must admit to being unimpressed by the Dodge RAM Farmer campaign—and not just because it’s an unoriginal concept repurposed with a multimillion-dollar budget for the Super Bowl. Or that Chipotle already saluted farmers in a more breakthrough way. Or that Dodge and The Richards Group (those wonderful folks who gave you talking vaginas) saw fit to call it the best ad to air during the big game. No, what’s annoying about the spot is its exclusivity. There’s one Black farmer in the bunch and the rest appear to be White. Wonder if anyone responsible for the campaign is familiar with the Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation Settlement.

9031: Michele Bachmann On Black Farmers.

From The New York Daily News…

Michele Bachmann calls black farmer settlement a magnet for fraud

The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb.—Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann pointed to one program in particular Monday when talking about wasteful government spending: a multibillion dollar settlement paid to black farmers, who claim the federal government discriminated against them for decades in awarding loans and other aid.

The issue came up after Bachmann and Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa toured flooded areas along the Missouri River. During a news conference, they fielded a question about whether farmers affected by the flooding also should be worried by proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture cuts.

The two responded by criticizing a 1999 settlement in what is known as the Pigford case, after the original plaintiff, North Carolina farmer Timothy Pigford. Late last year, President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing a new, nearly $1.2 billion settlement for people who were denied payments in the earlier one because they missed deadlines for filing.

King has likened the Pigford settlement to “modern-day reparations” for African-Americans. He said Monday a large percentage of the settlement “was just paid out in fraudulent claims” and criticized the Obama administration’s plan to resolve separate lawsuits filed by Hispanic and female farmers.

“That’s another at least $1.3 billion,” King said “I’d like to apply that money to the people that are under water right now.”

Bachmann seconded King’s criticism, saying, “When money is diverted to inefficient projects, like the Pigford project, where there seems to be proof-positive of fraud, we can’t afford $2 billion in potentially fraudulent claims when that money can be used to benefit the people along the Mississippi River and the Missouri River.”

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, which represented black farmers in the Pigford settlement, called the criticism unfair.

“Why continue to take from those people who haven’t taken part in federal programs equally and give to another group of farmers who have taken part in federal programs?” Boyd asked. “I think taking resources from a group of people who have been historically denied any relief at the Department of Agriculture is a bad idea. For the flood victims that deserve redress ... they should provide those people with relief, too.”

Boyd said he and others worked to put anti-fraud provisions in the legislation signed last year. They require each claim of discrimination to be judged individually to determine its merit - a process that Boyd said has not yet even begun.

“We worked with Republicans … to get those issues addressed,” he said. “Even after we got them addressed, Ms. Bachmann and Mr. King have continued to look at black farmers in a very negative way.

“I think it’s bad for the American people. I think if Ms. Bachmann wants to be president of the United States, she should treat all people fairly.”

Bachmann’s criticism wasn’t limited to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Minnesota congresswoman also took a swipe at the president, who has not visited areas of Iowa, Nebraska or other states flooded by the river.

“The devastation is beyond what people can imagine,” Bachmann said. “Surely this is worthy of a presidential visit to come see this level of devastation in western Iowa.”

Heavy rain and a large snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains have poured water into the Missouri, flooding more than 500,000 acres in seven states. The high water is expected to linger through August, putting pressure on levees that protect homes, cities and farms.

”This flood that we have seems to have disappeared from the minds of people from across the country,” King said. “If you’re not here to see it … you don’t hear very much about it.”