FCB's Deere Debut Draws on Brand's Heritage

"John Deere Solid" is the concept set forth in FCB Worldwide's debut advertising for the client and the premise for the pitch that won the $25 million business for the agency last fall.
"We're trying to take the history and heritage of John Deere and sum it up in a way that's simple and succinct," said Kurt Fries, a vice president and creative director at the Chicago agency. "BMW is performance, Volvo is safety, John Deere is solid."
A TV spot that breaks March 14 on network and cable has a branding overlay against a price promotion for Deere's LT 133 model, which sells for $2,000. The campaign maintains Deere's 18-year-old tagline, "Nothing runs like a Deere."
FCB won Deere's Commercial and Consumer Equipment Division account in September after the client split with Publicis & Hal Riney, Chicago. The review saw two contenders, DDB and Leo Burnett, both Chicago, drop out after disagreements with the client. Campbell-Ewald Advertising in Warren, Mich., was the other finalist.
Deere wanted ads to reach past the company's hard-core loyalists. That dictate represents the biggest difference between Riney's work and FCB's, Fries said. The target has been slightly broadened beyond hard-core Deere aficionados to those who may consider the brand too top-of-the-line.
FCB's TV spot appeals to a man's sense of ownership, juxtaposing shots of massive John Deere combines rolling through unending wheat fields, and a suburban homeowner tooling around his yard on a LT 133.
Other elements of the campaign include direct response television, radio and print. FCB is preparing corporate spots for a summer break. K