A Super Bowl commercial by U.S. building material company, 84 Lumber, was deemed by Fox as too controversial to be shown in its entirety during the Sunday night NFL game.
The Pennsylvania-based company filmed an ad that depicted a Mexican mother and daughter traveling north through the country to enter the U.S., though it is unclear whether the duo has legal permission to do so.
Fox, the sole network airing the sporting event, shot down the ad because of its ending, which shows the two ending their journey because a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border stands in their way. While the commercial does not state whether it is a part of the border wall that is already intact, it is likely meant to symbolize the completed wall that President Trump took executive action last month to complete.
“Fox would not let us air ‘the wall,'” Rob Schapiro, chief client officer at Brunner, the firm charged with creating 84 Lumber’s ad, told the Washington Post.
The agency spokesman said they chose to shoot the ad because “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.”
“If everyone else is trying to avoid controversy, isn’t that the time when brands should take a stand for what they believe in?” Schapiro added.
Amy Smiley, marketing director for 84 Lumber, said current events — like the border wall order — were a contributing factor to the network’s rejection of the ad.
“[T]he conversation in the media exploded around this topic, and it evolved into something controversial that made Fox a little too uncomfortable,” Smiley told the Post.
21st Century Fox has not released a statement to the public about this or any commercial that was or was not approved to run Sunday evening.
84 Lumber has modified its original commercial to exclude the scene at the wall and instead added a barbed-wire fence in its place. The original piece is expected to air on 84 Lumber’s website later Sunday.
“The commercial that will air during the Super Bowl does not have the ending we originally wanted, but the message has not changed,” Schapiro said. “Our message is that America is the land of opportunity and 84 Lumber is the company of opportunity.”
