It takes some talent to get airtime on Fox’s “American Idol” without actually singing a note, but an ad agency in Omaha, Neb., figured out a way to do just that, while getting a lot of free press for its effort.

If you were one of the more than 28 million people to watch the Jan. 29 episode of “American Idol,” you'll recall it featured auditions in Omaha. You may have noticed as the show opened a camera shot of a huge corn field in which a message had been carved welcoming the show to city.

If you didn't see it then, you might have seen glimpses of it later that night. You might have also caught a glimpse of it on Super Bowl night in a promotion for "Idol."

If you didn't see it, know that a lot of people in Omaha did, and it got lots of positive buzz for Swanson Russell Associates, the agency that cooked it up the idea.

Initially, SRA was going to do it on their own, but then one day Jennifer Windrum, the agency’s public relations manager, was talking to an "Idol" senior producer, Patrick Lynn, and told him to expect a green and yellow surprise when the show flew into Omaha. Lynn figured it out, a crop circle.

“You've got to be kidding me," he told Windrum. "I'm a crop circle freak. If you guys can pull this off, I want to use it on the show."

SRA had two weeks to coordinate the project before Fox staffers invaded Omaha, so it enlisted the Maize, a Utah company that specializes in corn field art.

The crop carvers, as they’re called, showed up in Omaha on Aug. 6 and created a five-acre “Idol” logo, along with the words “Welcome to Omaha.” Three days later, a Fox crew flew over in a helicopter and filmed the giant crop art.

The Fox made what seemed an unusual demand: Tear the whole thing down.

Producers wanted to use it on the show, but that had to be its first public appearance, so to speak, a true exclusive. So down the art came, the field returned its natural state, or close to it. It had been up just a few days by then.

The agency paid for the crop carvers, as well as use of the land and the crops used in the circle. Windrum won't say how much was spent, though she says it was more than originally planned. Fox picked up the cost of the helicopter.

The agency was then sworn to secrecy, agreeing not to talk about the stunt until the Omaha segment aired.

But it was worth the money and wait, says Windrum.

“We’ve gotten local, national and even some international media placements,” she says.

“But I would say that’s a bonus. The main thing we wanted to do was put a national spotlight on Omaha and welcome ‘American Idol’ to our city. We were going to do it on our own anyway until they made it their project.”