Super Bowl Ad — Too Controversial for TV?
Eliana Velasco, Brenda Vega
Who would have thought the most talked ad during about the Super Bowl would be a lumber company’s pro-immigration ad?
For those who weren’t able to watch the promotional film in its entirety, the short film features a Mexican mother and daughter who embark on the long and perilous journey from Mexico to the United States. Although many criticized the company for promoting illegal immigration, 84 Lumber tweeted the entire video with the caption: Our complete Super Bowl story. See a mother & daughter’s symbolic journey toward becoming legal American citizens.
The short film begins with the two waking up in their small home, as the mother asks her daughter, “Estas lista?” Are you ready? The two pack up their things and the mother begins to look at photos she has in a box, almost as if she is looking at what she will be leaving behind. As mother and daughter say their final goodbyes, they begin their journey. As the daughter of immigrants, I know this feeling too well. When I talk to my parents or family members about their journeys to the U.S., they describe how dangerous and terrifying it can be. They have to leave everybody and everything they know for the chance at a better life in a completely different country.
As the video continues, we rarely hear anyone speak. The focus is on their journey as they go through cities, deserts, farms, and rivers over the course of several days. We see snippets of trucks carrying lumber and construction workers building what we assume to be a wall. At the end of their journey, mother and daughter get to the border where they are faced with what would be Trump’s giant wall. We see a wide shot of the giant wall which spans across the border and cuts right through a desert. There’s a moment of silence as the wall stands — desolate and jarring; dividing two nations.
Realizing that they will be unable to cross, the daughter reaches into her bag where she takes out an American flag made out of plastic scraps she’s collected along their journey. They embrace each other and begin to cry, knowing they won’t be able to fulfill their dreams. They then notice a sliver of light coming through the wall and find a giant door left by the workers. They look at each perplexed, but decide to walk towards the giant doors. This door slowly opens to allow both mother and daughter to cross into the land of opportunity.
The commercial ends with the tagline “The will to succeed is always welcome here.”
The five minute uncut commercial by 84 Lumber was deemed “too controversial” by Fox, mainly because Donald Trump’s “giant wall” is featured in the short film. We’re not really sure what’s too political or controversial about this since Trump has been mentioning the wall throughout his entire campaign and has vowed to build it now that he is president (but he doesn’t expect to pay for it; American taxpayers will).
The company was forced to edit and cut its original film for the Super Bowl, and directed viewers to go to its website to watch the uncut version. Adage reports that “within one minute of the commercial’s airing, the website received more than 300,000 hits.”
At first glance, the short film seems very pro-immigration, specifically illegal immigration. I was so excited to watch a commercial that depicted the hard work, sacrifice, and dedication of many immigrants who come to the U.S. But this feeling was short-lived. Soon after the entire video was posted online, 84 Lumber fought back at critics saying the video was not pro-immigration; illegal or not.
The company made it clear that the mother and daughter’s journey was supposed to reflect that of hard workers in the U.S. And, the building company is supposed to be the giant doors that give documented workers the opportunity to have a successful career. The company has also voiced their support of Trump’s wall, stating that even the president wants, “a big, fat beautiful door right in the middle of the wall” for legal immigration.
Whether 84 Lumber intended its ad to be pro immigration or not, the ad did achieve something. The short film depicts the reality behind the wall. The truth behind a wall that’s built with hate to block the dreams of hopes of those searching for a better life. It depicts what people don’t see or even think about when they think of Donald Trump’s wall. 84 Lumber used the most viewed televised event to shed light on the truth behind the perilous journey thousands of immigrants embark on every day.
