UPDATED: Dodge "God Made A Farmer," a direct lift of farms.com.

I know everyone’s going gaga about the Richard's Group's "God Made a Farmer" ad for Dodge because it cut through the clutter and was quiet and beautiful in an otherwise lacklustre year of super bowl spots. And this is true. Paul Harvey's voice still resonates long after he made this speech back in the 1970's.

But. I guess I would like it more if Farms.com didn’t do the exact same spot, right down to using Paul Harvey's voice and the execution (though not as heavily retouched) two years ago.

Do we still like it as much?

The Richard's Group Ad:

Dodge Ram God made a farmer

The farms.com tribute from 2011:

As you can see below the Farms.com people even acknowledge it on the website but still. It just seems less...magical.

Update: According to Dodge's Design Chief Ryan Nagode's tweet, it was all planned:

@jalopnik .... @farmsmedia partnered with @ramtrucks, go to ramtrucks.com/keepplowingit's not a rip, it's keeping the idea alive. #RamTrucks

— Ryan Nagode (@RNagode) February 4, 2013

How nice of you to clarify after the fact. I think we have a different definition of "keeping the idea alive." I see this more as, taking an idea and redoing it and calling it your own. As one Faecbook friend commented: " I feel bad for the people who made the farms dot com video. I hope they at least made money off this."

I hope so, too. Speaking of those other people, I went to Dodge's site as instructed, but I saw no mention of the original ad anywhere. It's certainly not posted on Dodge's site. I only see the "keep the idea alive," version. So one has to wonder, had we not found out about the other version existing, would you have mentioned it?

Hell, even a visit to Farms.com only shows the new Dodge version and not the original.

Now Farms.com is also saying this isn't a ripoff.

RT @patrickinnc: @farmsmedia Might want to let @slate & @dbhaglund know. They think it's a ripoff. Their story needs updating....

— Farms.com Media (@FarmsMedia) February 4, 2013

But please, guys, can someone tell me exactly what it is if it isn't a ripoff? Is it an homage? Is it a re-imagining? How do you explain it? Did they go to Farms.com and say "hey can we remake your spot exactly the same way but with more money?" So is it less of a ripoff if you "partner" with the people who did it originally? Do you know who created the original version? We'd like to see if they feel just a wee bit slighted. Did the creative team include their name in the credits list?

Don't worry, we'll be sure to get clarification as the story unfolds.