84 Lumber was forced to edit their Super Bowl commercial depicting President Donald Trump’s proposed Mexican-U.S. border wall. Watch the original version of the politically charged ad above!
Though the one-minute and 30-second spot which aired during the big game on Sunday, February 5, did not include any imagery of the wall that POTUS, 70, plans to build, it appeared to be a direct response to his controversial immigration policies. The ad, titled “The Journey Begins,” follows the struggles of a Mexican daughter and mother enduring the hardships of migrating to a new country.
“Ignoring the border wall and the conversation around immigration that’s taking place in the media and at every kitchen table in America just didn’t seem right,” Rob Schapiro — the chief client officer at Brunner, the agency that worked with 84 Lumber to create the ad — told The Washington Post on Sunday. “If everyone else is trying to avoid controversy, isn’t that the time when brands should take a stand for what they believe in?”
However, “Fox would not let us air ‘the wall,'” Schapiro told the newspaper.
84 Lumber’s director of marketing, Amy Smiley, told The Washington Post that she was “disappointed” that they had to cut out that portion of the commercial. “But ultimately, it’s their network and their decision,” she said, adding that she “understood their reasons.”
“[The] conversation in the media exploded around this topic,” Smiley added. “And it evolved into something controversial that made Fox a little too uncomfortable.”
In response, 84 Lumber posted the full version of the commercial on Journey84.com. In the extended five-minute and 44-second edition of the ad, the mother-daughter duo come in contact with “the wall,” but triumphantly conquer their obstacle when they find an open door to enter through. The commercial ends with a banner that reads, “The will to succeed it always welcome here.”
Other companies to get political in their Super Bowl ads include Airbnb, Budweiser and Audi, among others. You can watch them all here.