The story of innovation and accomplishment of America’s corn growers now has a place in the Smithsonian. The National Corn Growers Association says its seven-year-old Corn Farmers Coalition advertising campaign has a new exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“Having this campaign on display in an institution like the Smithsonian validates the investment of farmer’s corn checkoff dollars to tell their story to this key audience of Washington decision makers,” said Chip Bowling, president of NCGA and a farmer from Newburg, Maryland. “It also amplifies our message and will be a constant reminder to the 2.3 million people expected to visit the exhibit annually for the next 20 years.”
One of the coalition ads will be displayed in the Mars Hall of American Business alongside such pieces of advertising iconography as the Marlboro Man, images from the Morton’s Salt “When It Rains It Pours” campaign, and the first Breck Shampoo ad to feature an African-American “Breck girl.”
“When we started this educational program, our research showed most of our Washington audience didn’t think family farmers even existed anymore, even though they grow 90 percent of the nation’s corn,” Bowling said. “When they learned the facts it opened their eyes to who owns and farms the land and how these multi-generational farmers are embracing change to become the most productive and efficient in the world.”
Smithsonian curator Peter Liebhold said the ad was a natural choice for the 8,000-square-foot exhibit, a comprehensive look at American History as seen through business.
“This corn growers’ campaign is visually really striking and tells a great story,” Liebhold said. “It’s really a representation of modern advertising.”