Lester Gagen takes a break to watch as his steers rehearse for their role in Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s new television commercial. These five Longhorns rehearsed their part in the new Oklahoma Farm Bureau television commercial in downtown Tulsa. In spite of it being her wedding, this Oklahoma bride has an ear bud from her radio to listen to an important football game. Two Oklahoma Farm Bureau ads with this scene premiered Jan. 2 to coincide with bowl games. One ad was play-by-play of the OSU Cowboys and the other was play-by-play of the OU Sooners. 10 • Oklahoma Country • Winter 2008 “I think it’s fabulous,” says Oklahoma Farm Bureau Executive Oklahoma – the weather, football and cattle. It says we’re OK – which is Director Matt Wilson of the new advertising campaign. a play on the name Oklahoma – so you’re okay emphasizing that this is Two ads with a football theme began airing Jan. 2. Lester’s ad Oklahoma and we are Oklahoma’s insurance company and organization. debuted a bit later. “We believe our new marketing campaign theme, ‘We’re OK, so you’re After about nine months of market research, then interviews with okay,’ cements our relationships with our fellow Oklahomans as more than 20 advertising firms to select the ideal one; and countless someone they can trust in their time of need. In the end,” says Matt, feet of videotape to shoot five new ads, Oklahoma Farm Bureau “that’s what insurance is all about.” launched the new campaign. “We decided we need to do an effective multi-media campaign,” Matt he first two ads to debut depicted weddings. A bride and groom explained. “In today’s market, it’s important for Oklahoma Farm Bureau are repeating their vows in a church, but the bride has an ear bud to present itself in a way that is compelling and meaningful to from her radio and is listening to a broadcast of the Oklahoma consumers.” State University Cowboys football game in one ad. The other ad is the The television ads are a continuation of the organization’s self- sample couple in the same scenario with the bride listening to the improvement campaign. Over the past 10 years, the organization with Oklahoma University Sooners football game. the cooperation of Both conclude with the theme that this is Oklahoma, Farm Bureau county Farm is the state’s insurance company and that it’s all presented by Bureaus finished an Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Those two ads began running Jan. 2 to take image improvement advantage of the football bowl season. campaign by Lester’s ad previewed later in January. It also emphasizes the “We’re remodeling, OK, so you’re okay” theme but in an entirely different setting. rebuilding or adding From behind the wheel of an auto traveling down Tulsa’s Main on to county offices. Street, the driver suddenly encounters several Longhorn steers in the New district claims middle of the roadway. office were As the driver stops for the cattle, a cowboy on foot (it’s Lester) constructed, and comes into the street to drive the cattle out of the way. The “This is nearly every square Oklahoma. .this is Oklahoma’s insurance company. .Oklahoma Farm foot of the Oklahoma Bureau” theme then appears on the screen. City headquarters “I’m a bit in awe of how long it took” to film the commercial, Lester building got a face lift. said. “We did it umpteen times to get good pictures.” “What this cam- Lester and his six cowboys loaded up the Longhorn steers on the paign emphasizes is ranch, which is located near Bartlesville in the Ramona community, that this is Oklahoma; that October Sunday and headed for downtown Tulsa. we’re an Oklahoma “We hauled them down and got a fence set up. I didn’t know what insurance company; the steers would do when we turned them out. I thought we could have and we are a bit of a rodeo. The steers adapted, but the horses didn’t.” Oklahoma Farm The ranch horses the cowboys rode we skidish at the sights and Bureau,” explained sounds from the city. The Longhorns were almost oblivious, and Lester Matt. “The campaign worried that they “were almost too gentle. They got very complacent is all about things in and gentler. You couldn’t hardly run them down the street,” says Lester. Oklahoma Country • Winter 2008 • 11 Lester Gagen poses behind his desk at Green Country Ag & Lawn Equipment in Tulsa. He and his son-in-law own and operate two growing John Deere dealerships in northeast Oklahoma. The second dealership is located in Pryor. Lester Gagen and a son-in-law own and operate large John Deere dealerships in Tulsa and Pryor. Since they purchased the dealerships, business has grown from $4 million to $20 million annually in just seven years. They put a strong emphasis on service just like Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Some of the trucks and production crew from Cloud 9 Productions in Tulsa assemble on the Gagen ranch outside of Bartlesville. You’ll want to see the finished ad from this site, which features a log chain flying at a 90-degree angle from a fence post. He did not see the television ad before it debuted. However, Lester did have a pretty good idea of the message. “It seems the mood was that anything can happen in Oklahoma. You’re liable to see cattle in downtown Tulsa.” Lester’s selection for the commercial was happenstance. The ad agency selected to put together the new campaign contracted Cloud 9 Productions in Tulsa to do the actual production work. That company began scouting for sites for another commercial in the new campaign and wound up in Washington County. 12 • Oklahoma Country • Winter 2008 the ranch, but the grandkids, daughters and their husbands take an active role helping with the operation. They generally purchase one to two thousand head of stockers in September or October. The stockers stay on the ranch to add pounds and are sold as feeders in July and August. The hundred-head cow herd also is a major facet of the ranch operation. The ranch operation will double in size later this year with the addition of 4,700 leased acres. “I take a lot of ribbing about my wife ranching and me setting here (at the Tulsa “It all started when the movie company was digging around looking Green Country location) behind a desk,” says Lester. for a place to make a movie,” remembers Lester. While his family has run cattle for more than a quarter of a century, Lester and his wife, Becky, who manages all ranching operations, Lester and his son-in-law have been John Deere dealers just seven had just leased a ranch that the production company liked for a years. They purchased Green Country and now have 40 employees location shoot. After neighbors directed the production people to the working at the two locations. Gagens, Lester convinced them that another family ranch location “We’ve gone from a $4 million to a $20 million business in seven would be better. years of operation. We emphasize service and parts. We’ve grown every “They asked if they could film there. But the grass wasn’t Big Blue year. It’s better than ranching, and it’s not near as hard.” Stem, so I suggested my home place. I met with them. We went up to Ramona and they fell in love with it. It has big grass, trees and an oil ester, who plans to ranch full time when he retires, has had a long well. It’s what Oklahoma is all about.” and varied career. He grew up on a dairy farm in Ramona. After While the production company was scouting the Gagen ranch for graduating high school, he went to NEO at Miami for a year locations, representatives asked Lester where they could find cowboys before Uncle Sam came calling with a draft notice in 1966. for the Tulsa shoot. Lester spent a year with the infantry in Vietnam, a locale he “I told them me and my cowboys,” he remembers. sarcastically called a “fun place” before he returned to the states. He That was the start of the arrangement that put Lester, his cattle, then spent the next 33 years with three different companies that cowboys and ranch on Oklahoma television screens. marketed oil field equipment, and was vice president of marketing for While he enjoyed participating in the shoot in downtown Tulsa, North American operations for two of the three. Lester was more impressed when the production crew pulled on the Travel was a major part of his duties with the companies. Lester said ranch. Large trucks full of equipment, a large RV that provided a he was gone about 35 weeks each year, working for the companies in catered lunch to everyone involved and an airboat converged on places like China, South America, England and Europe. After several Broken Arrow 5. years, he was able to remain stateside but was transferred to many The ad filmed on the massive Gagen ranch, which runs 1,000 to different cities and states. 2,000 stockers and about 100 cows, will debut later in the year. It’s a He and his family “came home” in 2001 to northeastern Oklahoma weather related scenario, with a chain attached to a lone fence post in and expanded the ranching operation near Ramona. the middle of a Big Blue Stem pasture. Strong winds eventually “I’ve lived all over the country, but I like northeastern Oklahoma straighten the chain, putting it at a 90-degree angle to the post.