“Too controversial to air during the Super Bowl.” That’s what 84 Lumber was told when they tried to show a border wall in their first-ever Super Bowl commercial. But rather than changing their message, the nation’s leading privately owned building materials company decided to tell the full story as it was intended, online. And that full film went live today, as you can watch it now.
The advert was directed by award-winning director Cole Webley and it was created by the advertising agency Brunner.
The controversial ending to the film features a door in a border wall that ultimately allows the story’s protagonists to complete their journey. This door is a symbol of the doors that 84 Lumber opens for its employees, regardless of their race, ethnicity, background, or orientation.
“Even President Trump has said there should be a ‘big beautiful door in the wall so that people can come into this country legally,’” said 84 Lumber president and owner, Maggie Hardy Magerko. “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.”
84 Lumber has long been a household name in the home building industry but is largely unknown among the mainstream audience who will be watching the Super Bowl. And for a brand launching a yearlong national recruiting campaign, that presents a great challenge.
“For 60 years, this has been a company defined by its people, entrepreneurs who see opportunity where others don’t,” said Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber owner and president. “Our next 60 years will be no different. That’s why we’re casting a wider net; we want the world to know 84 Lumber is the place for people who don’t always fit nicely into a box.”
84 Lumber’s Super Bowl spot is the launch of a national recruiting campaign for the company’s management training program. The campaign is targeting males’ ages 20 to 29 that want to take control of their careers and embody the entrepreneurial spirit that runs rampant at 84 Lumber.
“Our industry is going through a period of extreme disruption,” Hardy Magerko continues. “And I’ve always preferred to be the one doing the disrupting, rather than the one being disrupted. But to do that, we need to hire and train people differently. We don’t need more people interested in doing the same thing that’s always been done. We need more people interested in creating their own path for themselves and for 84 Lumber.”
You can watch below the 90-second commercial of 84 Lumber aired during the Super Bowl 2017:
