Because farmers are willing to take the risk
(by putting little Gregory Swan in a TV commercial)
This issue of Social Signals was written to my favorite nu-metal playlist called WAM Days named after my friends Will, Aaron, and Mark, with whom I attended a lot of Ozzfest and Slipknot concerts back in the day.
I did a live Q&A with the Mixing Board community earlier this summer, and I opened my introduction by sharing that I grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and freaked everyone out that I was going to share my life’s history to 100 people on a 30-minute call.
But the truth is I’ve been going kind of deep on that history lately, and there is a particular moment that happened on that farm I want to share with you.
One of my first childhood memories is standing on my front porch looking at a camera, running down the steps to watch myself on the monitor playing back the takes, and then running back onto the porch to do it again. And again. And then… watching it on TV. It’s a core memory that shaped part of who I am today.
How Advertising, PR, & Storytelling Came For Me
It was 1984, and the United States was experiencing a significant agricultural crisis. According to Wikipedia, land prices had fallen dramatically leading to record foreclosures. Farm debt for land and equipment purchases soared during the 1970s and early 1980s, doubling between 1978 and 1984. Record production led to a fall in the price of commodities. Exports fell at the same time. The word crisis was an understatement.
The Ciba-Geigy agrochemical company needed to advertise its Dual herbicide products for the 1985 growing season in a tricky market.
So it chose to use its advertising budget to tell a story about America’s farmers and the dedication and perseverance it takes to bet it all on a crop — building up name recognition and loyalty among its target audiences by using a feel-good story in a rocky time paired with mass-reach advertising buys targeting programs like Good Morning America and the CBS Morning News.
In today’s performance marketing-focused marketing landscape, there’s a lot of discussion about brands like my former client Nike, who have forgone much of their brand storytelling in favor of clicks, cookies that follow you around the internet, affilliate sales, apps that scream notifications daily, and worship of the coveted “BUY NOW” call to action that incentivizes short term sales but perhaps not a long term brand love.
Here’s how Dual decided to market its product by telling a brand story (see if you can spot little Gregory):
Here’s the script:
You'll have to work hard. Start early every day. Go into debt for the equipment you'll need. And there'll be things you can control: government regulations, the weather, even your product's selling price. Did I mention that one bad year could wipe you out? I'm talking about a very risky business: Farming.
But every year over 2 million American farmers bet their family's financial future on their ability to produce and market a crop at a profit. Because they take the chance the rest of us enjoy a reliable supply of food. American agriculture. It pays off for all of us. Because farmers are willing to take the risk. This message is brought to you by Dual herbicide on behalf of the American corn and soybean grower.
Dual is a herbicide registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and it is widely used by farmers to control weeds and grass. The herbicide was advertised as giving farmers longer control over weeds and grass for a lower price than competitive products. It was "the longer lasting grass herbicide."
The advertising materials distributed to farmers by Ciba-Geigy also stated, "Crop injury? You don't have to worry when you use Dual. Gives you peace of mind. That's worth a lot."
This is some quality ag copywriting filled with unmistakable product benefits: Longer lasting. Peace of mind. Worth a lot.
We see these same “reasons to believe” (RTBs) in advertising and PR come up a lot. They highlight benefits that can make a product or service more appealing to consumers.
But a brand that GETS you, and has the RTBs to prove it? Now that’s something you might bet the farm on. In the case of these TV spots, literally bet the farm!
It was a scene all around town. Multiple farms, a parade downtown, and a helicopter that flew down from Des Moines just for that shot of our farm at the end.
And of course, if a TV film crew comes to a small town anywhere, it’s gonna make the news:
I did online sleuthing for New York-based producer Ann Shaibley and Churchill Films and didn’t get very far, although I did find this video the production company made about the power of television advertising that was… umm… enlightening. If the internet wants to do its thing and help connect me with any of those folks, I would love that!
The narrator and key actor in the spot (with his hand atop my head at the end of the spot) was John Bartholomew Tucker, whom you may know as a familiar voice in TV spots spanning four decades in commercial work for JELL-O, Miracle Whip, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Parker Brothers, and Dirt Devil (so many Dirt Devil commercials) from the 70s-00s.
Tucker is credited with helping launch the program for what became Good Morning America in the 70s and was the first host of Candid Camera. The above photo is from him appearing on Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell on ABC — not to be confused with Saturday Night Live on NBC. He passed away in 2014 or else I would have sought him out!
A Formative Moment
Picture this: I was four years old when a TV crew showed up at our rural farm, cast me in a commercial, and suddenly, there I was, months later, watching myself on television. The commercial was recorded on a VCR tape and would be pulled out on family holidays to watch again and again. We weren’t famous, but it felt like it. Iowa famous, maybe.
At some point, we left the family farm and moved to the big city. In high school, I had my fair share of odd jobs—working at a movie theater, a shopping mall, even a dirt track racetrack. But storytelling on a larger scale had always captivated me, whether it was listening to A Prairie Home Companion, enjoying Bob Newhart tapes, reading Pat McManus books, or becoming a voracious consumer of TV spots.
By 17, I found myself at an advertising agency. There's a longer story about leaving that industry to go to engineering school and then finding my way back within 9 months, but that’s a tale for another time.
What I do know is that storytelling is fundamental to who I am. It’s about understanding the optics and the environment of a story—choosing the right medium to reach people and crafting a message that not only shares reasons to believe but also inspires belief.
Looking Back to Look Forward
Last March I had the opportunity to make a solo journey back to Creston, Iowa and found myself outside of that 1800s farmhouse, knocking on the door, and asking the older couple inside if they minded if I stood on their front porch to do some quiet thinking. I was at a life inflection point, and it just felt right to go back to where it all started.
Advertising came for me, but I’m the reason it stuck. Storytelling and studying culture is rooted into what gives me energy. I’m fortunate to have found this vocation so early in my life and to have built a community of likeminded people. Including you!
I won’t get more sappy here, but…
If you are ever wondering what kind of herbicide you should buy for your farm, feel free to ask my advice.
Just please know, I’m not a farmer. I just play one on TV. -Greg
⚡️ Social Signals
Drake University Professor Chris Snider has been surveying his students during the first week of classes for 12 years to get an idea of how their social media habits are evolving. Here is how this year’s data stacks up. And his TikTok (crossing 100k views) unpacking the key points. Also, RIP BeReal.
Your Snapchat inbox is going to have ads soon. Snap announced it will soon launch “Sponsored Snaps,” which are pretty much like LinkedIn’s sponsored InMails in Snap form. Snapchat’s also adding “Promoted Places”, which will enable businesses to highlight their stores on the Snap Map. I just wish they would fix the janky, interruptive ads in the Snap Story feed. They’re so ugly and rough.
Per the conversation we had last week about LinkedIn (It’s not just about being on LinkedIn; it’s about using LinkedIn to its fullest potential), I’ll point you to Lyft and some fun things they are doing in comment engagement and working with influencers. LinkedIn, you guys!
Check out this Infinite Super Mario Brothers from an AI image generator trained with a single consumer-grade GPU (it took 48 hours). Give it a command (run, jump) and it generates the next frame, simulating the games physics & continuing forever. Here’s the full breakdown via PDF (via
).I’m a broken record about the need for marketers to spend time in brand experiences in metaverse worlds like Roblox. This week Roblox is making that even easier by launching a custom world just for brands to learn about brands on Roblox. Check it out here: The Roblox Brand Experience. Again, Roblox is free. You can download it on your phone. And it’s a huge part of our jobs to lean into the future and explore ways younger generations are exploring the future of social.
Tool of the Week: LinkedIn Profile Roaster (“Greg here likes to list his job titles like they're badges from a corporate boy scout camp”).
Good Read of the Week: How extremely online culture is showing up outside of social media from ‘very demure’ to ‘Brat Summer’ via
Word of the Week: Fridgescaping (and yes, this is real journalism says
).Report of the Week: Trends and traction in journalism and the news industry, a report from The Poynter Institute.
Takeaways: 1) "News fatigue" is vague and can depend on wording of surveys. People DO want news and facts. 2) We cannot dismiss content creators (as some journalists did at the DNC). They are connecting with audiences and building trust. 3) Generative AI presents a massive opportunity for news organizations to diversify their coverage areas and reach new audiences, as long as they experiment with purpose and journalistic ethics.
LinkedIn Video of the Week: Gatekeepers are rising from the dead.
Thread of the Week: The Harris campaign posted a video of Trump next to a Subway Surfers playthrough. No campaign has ever showcased this much raw zoomer energy.
Podcast of the Week:
at Garbage Day launched a podcast called Panic Room. Listen to the trailer here.TikTok of the Week: Daycare kids trying to skip ads on projected YouTube.
So Genuinely Amazing TikTok of the Week: Samuel’s birdcall performance at his school talent show. He’s so talented!! And the kids were so quiet and respectful. Love this.
See you in the future! 🚀
Greg