A Lumber Company’s Super Bowl Ad Has An Ending That Was Deemed ‘Too Controversial’ To Air During The Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Uk6ctu7nI

The commercials for Sunday’s Super Bowl have been, as usual, heavy on the celebrities. There’s Gal Gadot and Jason Statham fighting in a restaurant for Wix, Joel and Ethan Coen’s Easy Rider sequel for Mercedes-Benz, and Tina Fey and Steve Carell sharing their yearbook photos for Honda. But between the silly ads with famous people and anthropomorphic digestive systems, some seriousness has seeped through. Budweiser’s effective spot sends a strong pro-immigration message, while 84 Lumber’s first Super Bowl commercial depicts a giant border wall. Which you won’t see on television, only online.

The New York Times reports that 84 Lumber — “the nation’s leading privately held supplier of building materials, building supplies, manufactured components, and industry-leading services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings,” unlike those bums at 83 Lumber — was “forced to alter its plans” for the commercial, which shows a Spanish-speaking mother and child confronting Donald Trump’s wall, after Fox deemed it “too controversial.” The ad will still run before halftime, but without an ending. Viewers will have to go to 84 Lumber’s website to see the rest.

“I still can’t even understand why it was censored,” Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber’s president and owner, said in an interview this week. “In fact, I’m flabbergasted by that in today’s day and age. It’s not pornographic, it’s not immoral, it’s not racist.” (Via)

The NFL wants to keep politics out of the Super Bowl — Lady Gaga was reportedly informed that she can’t mention Trump during her halftime show — and a league spokesperson said, “We review spots to ensure they do not violate our advertising policies.” He added, “The ad that will air does not violate our policies.” Fox, meanwhile, has a guideline that forbids “advocacy of controversial issues.” And yet, Osbournes Reloaded still made it to air.

The powerful bat lobby was furious.

UPDATE: here’s the extended Super Bowl commercial.

(Via the New York Times)

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