84 Lumber delivers its full, ‘controversial’ message
It was deemed too controversial for the Super Bowl audience — thanks to a plot that worked its way across a barren (but beautifully filmed) landscape to reach a climax at a divisive border wall.
The first-ever 84 Lumber Super Bowl commercial showed part of the story in 90 seconds, the rest went live online at the web site Journey84.com.
At noon on Monday, the 5-minute, 44-second Youtube video was showing 3,288,260 views. Thumbs up were leading thumbs down by more than 5 to 1.
The company said the commercial said the themes of hard work, dedication and sacrifice found throughout the film are the same ideals valued in 84 Lumber employees.
At the end of the story, immigrants enter the U.S. through a big door in a border wall.
“Even President Trump has said there should be a ‘big beautiful door in the wall so that people can come into this country legally,'" 84 Lumber president and owner Maggie Hardy Magerko said. “It’s not about the wall. It’s about the door in the wall. If people are willing to work hard and make this country better, that door should be open to them.”
The ad and the short film, created by 84 Lumber’s agency partner, Brunner, was created to position 84 Lumber as a company of opportunity for the next generation of the housing industry, the company said.
“This is a spot and a campaign that demands attention, serious reflection, spirited dialogue and, most importantly, tells the world who 84 Lumber is,” Brunner’s chief creative officer Rob Schapiro said. “With a platform like this, we had a responsibility to do more than create a commercial, but to create something meaningful that would get people talking about the housing industry in a positive way. And ignoring the conversation that’s taking place in the media and at every kitchen table in America just didn’t seem right.”
The price of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial has been reported widely as a cool $5 million.
84 Lumber’s Super Bowl commercial wasn’t the only spot that focused on immigration. A Budweiser commercial during the Super Bowl looked back at Adolphus Busch’s entry into the United States.
Super Bowl Sunday also included a football game. The New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons, owned by Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, by a score of 34-28.