Promotional tractors through the years

Paint shades were often some of the most protected assets of tractor companies who often copyrighted colors and issued strict instructions to their dealers as to their use. But every so often manufacturers, driven by the need to call attention to a new line of horsepower or wanting to stand out in a crowded field of tractors, got inventive and employed a color scheme variant to create a dealer demonstrator program aimed at getting farmers to drive and then buy a tractor.

Because my research failed to uncover previous attempts at promoting tractors by painting them in unusual colors, International Harvester gets credit for creating the first “off-color” promotion scheme when the manufacturer painted its 1950 Cub, Super A, and C models all white.

During the first three months that year, these models were painted white and delivered to dealers who could pitch the tractors’ advantages. “NOW is the time to get there (to farms) firstest with the mostest tractor!” dealer literature proclaimed.

This Mid-Century White Farmall Demonstrator Tractor campaign boasted to IHC dealers that “No farmer can resist the temptation to take a look at this white-painted, star-studded Farmall. It’s a natural attention-getter. It’s a natural door opener for your salesman to tell the Farmall story.”

Stretching from January 15 to July 15, 1950, the campaign’s goal was to sell no less than $96 million worth of tractors.

While participating dealers could sell the white tractors (after a 90-day promotion period), those tractors had to be repainted the standard Farmall red. “No white tractors may be sold to users,” IHC management warned the dealers. “This color would interfere with on-the-spot delivery of tractors when demonstrating results in sale.”

Gold Fords

The success of the white Farmall program was noticed by farmers as well as other tractor manufacturers. So in 1959, Ford, wanting to draw attention to its highly unusual Select-O-Speed transmission, painted Powermaster series tractors Lincoln-automobile gold and sent them to all of their dealers. Dealers were encouraged to haul these tractors out to potential customers and put them to work in the field.

In addition to entrancing participating farmers, Ford also hoped the tractors’ gold skin would attract the attention of neighbors and passersby.

Although details of Ford’s gold program are scant, an estimated 2,000-plus gold demonstrators were sent out when various 801 series models first came off assembly lines in January 1959. Those demonstrators would be sold later to local farmers who could decide whether they wanted them to remain gold or paint back to traditional Ford colors.

Gold demonstrators

Both J.I. Case and International Harvester struck gold in 1970.

For IHC, seeking the Midas touch consisted of painting the fenders and hoods of select models
544, 656, 826, 1026, and 1456 tractors. In addition, a black decal spelling out “Demonstrator”
was placed on the rear of the hood. Originally, the plan was to use the red-and-gold color scheme
to promote just models with IHC’s hydrostatic transmission. But models such as the 1456, with its gear-drive transmission, were included in the promotion program. Once the promotion was over, the gold demos were sold, either with the gold paint intact or repainted by the dealership. Most were repainted per IH edict, but some farmers wanted the gold paint — and they were accommodated.

The golden demonstrator concept would be revived by IHC’s successor, Case IH, in 2007,
when it promoted its new 2008 gold signature edition tractors and also celebrated the 50th anniversary of Steiger tractors and 20th anniversary of the Magnum.

Black and gold

Case promoted another demonstrator in 1970 by painting the hoods on 550 Agri-King models black. This was set off with a golden stripe running vertically up the front of the hood. Dealers promoted the concept with Gold Opportunity Days where coupons good for $500 in Case products were distributed.

Dealer enthusiasm was sufficient enough that Case came back with the Black Knight promotion the following year. This color scheme entailed painting hoods, cabs, and fenders in black along with a gold hood stripe that appeared only on the model 1090 and 1170 tractors.

Spirit of ’76

Certainly the most extravagant color promotion, however, was Case’s Spirit of ’76 Agri-King tractor, which was decked out in red, white, and blue with prominent stars appearing across the hood. Both
models 1370 and 1570 were adorned in this fashion along with a few model 446 garden tractors painted similarly to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial.

Case IH would celebrate the Spirit tractors in 2008 and 2009 when it displayed a Stars &Stripes Magnum model 180 at farm shows.

Variations in color to promote equipment have been utilized by other manufacturers over time. For example, the 150,000th Case IH Magnum tractor was turned out entirely in gold.

That same company celebrated the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the Magnum in 2013 by producing a limited number of model 340 powershift tractors sporting silver hoods, cab tops, and wheel rims.