14012: BHM 2018—RAM MLK WTF 2.

Advertising Age published follow-up reporting on the Ram Super Bowl commercial featuring voiceover duties by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that drew quick criticism for its cultural cluelessness. Dodge Ram defended the execution, insisting it had received approval from the civil rights leader’s estate. The King Center, however, stated having no involvement in the scenario. The sad part is, while MultiCultClassics is categorizing this mess under BHM 2018, it’s very likely that no one at Dodge Ram even knows February is Black History Month.

Ram Defends Super Bowl Ad, Says Martin Luther King Estate Approved it

By E.J. Schultz

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Sunday night defended a polarizing Super Bowl ad for its Ram brand that used a Martin Luther King Jr. speech delivered 50 years ago. The spot drew criticism on social media immediately after it aired in the game’s second quarter. Some observers knocked it for being tone deaf. But the company said it worked in collaboration with Martin Luther King Jr.’s estate on the spot.

“It is 50 years to the day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave such a tremendous speech about the value of service. Ram was honored to have the privilege of working with the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. to celebrate those words during the largest TV viewing event annually,” the company stated. “We worked closely with the representatives of the Martin Luther King Jr. estate to receive the necessary approvals and estate representatives were a very important part of the creative process every step of the way.”

As the ad was being assailed on Twitter, another entity, The King Center, made it clear it had nothing to do with it. The center was founded by King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, as a living memorial to the civil rights icon.

The ad, by a Chicago-based boutique ad agency called Highdive, used the audio of an MLK speech delivered on Feb. 4, 1968, against a montage of everyday people, along with shots of the Ram 1500 truck. The ad sought to portray a message of service. On its website, Ram plugs “Ram Nation,” an organization of Ram owners that engages in service projects.

But some people found the ad tasteless.

But other people came to Ram’s defense.

Ram is not the first automaker to incorporate Reverend King in an ad. General Motors in 2006 used him, along with images of Muhammad Ali and others in a spot for its Chevy Silverado. Mercedes-Benz also used footage of King in a 2010 ad.

14006: BHM 2018—RAM MLK WTF.

Advertising Age reported on the Dodge Ram commercial featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. serving as voiceover, which drew immediate criticism from the public. It’s not the first time Dodge Ram has delivered a culturally clueless payload during the Super Bowl. The truck company should stick with Clint Eastwood for future messages.

Ram Backlash: What MLK Really Said About Advertising

By E.J. Schultz

The 50-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. speech that Ram used to back its controversial Super Bowl ad included a passage hinting at what the civil rights icon really thought about advertisers. He wasn’t especially fond of them: King called them “gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion,” suggesting that, for instance, their tactics manipulate people into thinking that “in order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car.”

Ram, of course, left that part of his speech out of its ad, which came under heavy criticism Sunday for using MLK’s words to sell a truck. But a version of the ad overlayed with King’s critique of advertising is circulating on social media, adding to the backlash against Ram.

Ram-owner Fiat Chrysler Automobile defended the service-themed spot Sunday night, saying that it worked in collaboration MLK’s estate on the spot. Eric D. Tidwell, managing director of the licensor of the estate, a group called Intellectual Properties Management Inc., said the organization reviewed the ad to “ensure it met our standard integrity clearances,” according to Slate and other media reports. “We found that the overall message of the ad embodied Dr. King’s philosophy that true greatness is achieved by serving others.”

Below is the full passage about advertising from the speech, called the “Drum Major Instinct” sermon, which King delivered on Feb 4, 1968. It was an adaptation of the 1952 homily “Drum-Major Instincts” by J. Wallace Hamilton, a liberal Methodist preacher, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, which has a copy of the entire speech on its web site.

“Now the presence of this instinct explains why we are so often taken by advertisers. You know, those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion. And they have a way of saying things to you that kind of gets you into buying. In order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey. In order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car. (Make it plain) In order to be lovely to love you must wear this kind of lipstick or this kind of perfume. And you know, before you know it, you’re just buying that stuff. (Yes) That’s the way the advertisers do it.”

11381: The Richards Group Is Clueless.

The Richards Group—who originally ripped off the concept for the wildly exclusive “God Made A Farmer” spot for Dodge RAM—is now flaunting these lame print ads. The retro look recalls a time when minorities were only depicted in advertising as stereotypes or aunts and uncles.

From Ads of the World.

10976: Dodge RAM = Mad Ave = Racist.

MultiCultClassics wasn’t the only one to notice the exclusivity depicted in the Dodge RAM Farmer campaign that launched during Super Bowl XLVII. Editorials have appeared from Advertising Age to The Atlantic—including a parody video from a Latino group. The online comments in response to the critiques are stereotypical and dumb, once again displaying the cultural cluelessness so prevalent in the advertising industry. The common stupidity covers the following:

”What group of consumers was RAM trying to sell to? Enough said.”

“Newsflash. It’s an ad. Perhaps the market segmentation study revealed that there was no way a ‘non-white’ farmer would go anywhere near a RAM truck. Maybe the largest and most profitable segment was exactly who was shown?”

“Everything does NOT have to be political—Get the F’ over it!”

“…What percentage of brands represent a number of ethnic groups in a single ad? How many times does McDonald’s come out with an ad featuring only African Americans? It seems that RAM picked a target group and did a pretty solid job appealing to it.”

Okey-doke. Where to begin?

Consider the fact that Dodge RAM insists it—along with The Richards Group—ripped off the concept in order to hype a promotion in support of farmers and hunger and educational programs. If the PR is to be believed, shouldn’t the messages have appealed to a broad audience? Wouldn’t there have been benefits to showing a diverse range of farmers?

Regarding the possibility that Dodge RAM is deliberately wooing a White audience, well, such thinking doesn’t make sense either. After all, at the 2012 ANA Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Conference, RAM Truck Brand’s President-CEO Fred Diaz revealed non-White sales were up and targeting minorities was imperative. Then again, Diaz is partnering with Richards Lerma, the minority ghetto division of The Richards Group.

As for the assholes condemning political correctness and Black Mickey D’s spots… oh, never mind. Countering the arguments of racists—especially ad racists—is a complete waste of time and effort.

It’s unlikely the Dodge RAM campaign is featuring Whites on purpose; rather, it’s probably nothing more than a reflection of the ignorance of a White client and its White advertising agency. To put an exclamation point on everything, it must be noted that Paul Harvey—whose words and voiceover drive the Dodge RAM commercial—was thought by many to be a racist.

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.

10962: Ramming Self-Congratulatory Bullshit.

Dear Dodge RAM,

You don’t get to decide which ad is best. And while you’re invoking God, consider Proverbs 11:2—When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.