Construction company 84 Lumber put out a pretty moving commercial during the Super Bowl, winning the title for the most controversial ad.
84 Lumber released their first ever Super Bowl commercial showing a mother and daughter on their journey to immigrate to the United States from Mexico. However, the full ad was considered too controversial by Fox, leaving viewers on quite the cliffhanger about the ending.
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In the 90-second commercial that aired during the game, a mother and daughter are seen traveling throughout Mexico by trucks, trains, and on foot. During the journey, the little girl stops to pick up random items of cloth and plastic, which she sews together at night around a campfire. The ad then cuts out, directing viewers to 84 Lumber’s website to see the conclusion.
People were so curious to see how the ad played out and ended up crashing 84 Lumber’s website with all of the traffic. Luckily, the full ad was available on YouTube.
The ad picked up with the mother and daughter reaching their destination, only to be stopped by a border wall that President Trump has promised to build.
The mother breaks down as a sign of defeat, however the daughter quickly brings her spirits back up. She reveals that she has been sewing an American flag with the scraps she had collected along their journey.
With some renewed hope, the duo continues to walk. They soon find an opening in the wall made out of lumber. As they walk through the wall, the words “The will to succeed is always welcome here,” plays across the screen.
Watch the full ad below.
While Fox deemed the ad too controversial, it wasn’t something 84 Lumber wanted to ignore.
“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 Shapiro, the chief client officer at Brunner, the agency that worked with 84 Lumber develop the ad told the Washington Post. “If everyone else is trying to avoid controversy, isn’t that the time when brands should take a stand for what they believe in?”
The ad was quick to spark a conversation on social media, with many praising the company for taking a stance. Many people were surprised that the controversial ad came from a lumber company as well.
84 Lumber was not the only brand to make a political statement during the Super Bowl. Budweiser, Airbnb, Audi, and Google were just a handful of brands that decided to take a stance about the political climate with their commercials.
Check out more on 84 Lumber’s website.
