Fox rejected the original 84 Lumber immigrant ad which included a wall
84 Lumber/YouTube
84 Lumber's ad featuring an immigrant and her daughter was among the most controversial ads at the Super Bowl.
But the version of the ad people saw on television had been edited by Fox to omit a scene with a border wall.
The 90-second ad that aired on TV during the Super Bowl depicted a Mexican mother and daughter embarking on an arduous journey to leave their country of origin and find a better life in the US.
The ad then invited viewers to watch the conclusion of the ad online. However, the dedicated website appeared to be down during the game with the rush of people looking to find out how the ad ends.
The full version of the ad is available to watch here:
84 Lumber said last month the first cut of its ad was rejected by Super Bowl broadcaster Fox for being too political. The ad had featured a "wall" blocking people from looking for work in the US.
The wall appears in the digital version, initially blocking the pair from entering the country, before they travel a bit further along and come across two large doors, finally granting them entry into the US. The ad carries the tagline: "The will to succeed is always welcome here."
Rob Schapiro, chief creative officer of 84 Lumber's ad agency Brunner, told Business Insider the ad intended to make a "patriotic" statement and aimed to make the company a household name throughout the country as it expands and opens more stores in the US.
Schapiro said: "[The message behind the ad] is that in this great land of opportunity, 84 Lumber is a company of opportunity. With this expansion will come an ongoing recruitment campaign, and on this journey we depicted characters who embody the traits and characteristics they are looking for in their people: strong will, determination, and hard-working people."
The 90-second TV ad (no big border wall - and no ending, either):
"Several [advertising] industry veterans," who spoke to Adweek earlier this month speculated that 84 Lumber and Brunner deliberately submitted an ad that would be rejected to build up the PR momentum before game day - not least because the ad is being delivered in two parts, meaning production would have needed to begin long before Fox rejected the spot.
Schapiro dismissed that theory. He said: "Our aim was to tell an authentic story and not to engage in a marketing stunt."
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