The Superbowl Ad You Will Not Be Seeing Today [Updated]

screen-shot-2017-02-05-at-11-02-32-am84 Lumber is a building materials supply company that is the latest to trigger a Superbowl advertisement  controversy over an ad.  We have previously discussed how groups like PETA often seems to engineer conflicts (and rejections) to get more attention than would have been generated by a commercial itself.  Whatever the motivation, 84 Lumber has garnered massive attention after its commercial “The Journey Begins” was rejected by Fox as too political and divisive.  With some 47 percent of the public supporting the Trump executive order, it is a risky move that the attention could create as much anger as support among potential customers.  Regrettably, I will be on a flight to Guam (which takes off at the time of the kickoff).  I will try to get the game on the flight but I enjoy having a Superbowl party with the kids. We enjoy the commercials often as much as the game.  The company said that it was censored but allowed to run an altered commercial.  Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber’s president and owner, is quoted as saying “I still can’t even understand why it was censored. 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.”

Here is the full commercial:

 

The commercial is extremely well done and touching.  The calculation by the company is interesting in itself. It clearly must have known that the ad would be a lightning rod.  Michael Brunner of the production company is quoted as saying “We’re lucky to have a client who is not only unafraid of investing in a 90-second Super Bowl spot, but also willing to push the creative envelope. Sometimes you need to take a stance if you want to make an impact with your target audience. But in the process, you may also create detractors.”

And that could be a lot of detractors.  While 51 percent of people say they oppose the executive order, some 47 percent support it. That is roughly even.

More than half of Americans disapprove of President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to a new poll, though Americans are sharply divided along party lines on the issue.

Rasmussen Reports found in its own survey earlier this week that a majority approved of Trump’s order. Either way, it is roughly even — making the calculus an interesting one for a company that supplies building materials as opposed to an advocacy group like PETA that may not expect much support from conservative viewers.

What do you think?

125 thoughts on “The Superbowl Ad You Will Not Be Seeing Today [Updated]”

  1. Not every aspect of life needs to involve politics, nor should it. It’s a football game and an important one at that. Sit back and enjoy the show. Revolving one’s self along politics only empowers politicians to control you since you’ve granted them permission to supposedly come to your rescue from whatever “bad” there is in the world.

    The more self-reliant you are the stronger you will be. Why let 536 individuals dictate your happiness?

  2. I wonder if in Part 2, (or maybe Part Dos would be more appropriate?), the Senorita and her Nina make it to California, where mamacita goes to work for $8.00 per hour cash (no time and a half for over 40 hours) cleaning Meryl Streep’s mansion, while Meryl flies the kid by private jet to France to meet the famous Roman Polanski???

    Meanwhile, mamacita gets on food stamps, welfare, and medicaid because nobody knows she is working for Meryl. And, of course, she gets a driver’s license and votes a straight Democratic party ticket!

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

    1. Since Meryl Strep resides in NYC and CT, your fake news is as misguided as ever. Your racism never fails to present its ugly self. It is deep and all encompassing.

  3. The ‘alien autopsy’ was the bottom right selection of 4 possible follow ons to the ‘unseen Mexican ad’ from 84Lumber, which seemed to be very well done.

  4. The best part was the alleged ‘alien autopsy’ of the alleged ‘Apollo 20’ Indian appearing mummy.

    Maybe you got to meet her on Guam, the home of ALS.

    Plus this website is repeatedly suffering from some kind of demyelinating condition. HELP — MAINTENANCE PROGRAMERS, WHERE ARE YOU ?

  5. Just a thought here…. Australia has an interesting immigration policy. You can’t be retirement age or not have a job to emigrate there. Why don’t we think about something like that here? Nobody is “up in arms” over the policies of Australia. Why are people in the US so freaked out about a PAUSE? And why, for the love of God, are liberals citing the constitution? The constitution covers American citizens, the last time I checked, and these people are NOT citizens.
    Just asking……

    1. Haha because the elites of the us and state leaders abide by the constitution. What’s kissingers famous quote?

      I would submit that jts alleged affinity for the constitution is derived almost purely self-interest and professional gain; otherwise, to highlight a document that allowed people to own people is an affront to the basic definition of liberty.

  6. I suppose you can get away with diverting resources to politics and engaging in risky business when you are privately held.

  7. It’s almost like 84 Lumber understands that builders – 84 Lumber’s customers – prosper from creating a glut of cheap labor. And if builders prosper, then 84 Lumber prospers.

    And it stands to reason that the more illegal invaders there are, the lower they can drive wages for Americans who are manual laborers. So the builders win. And Lumber 84 wins.

    The only losers are the low skilled Americans who survive by selling their manual labor. The glut of cheap labor supplied by the illegal invaders prevent their wages from rising.

  8. Examples of Human Trafficking in the United States
    June 2016 — Aroldo Castillo- Serrano was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his part in smuggling Guatemalan workers, including minors, and making them work 12 hour days. They were forced to live in cramped conditions and were made to pay off a significant debt incurred by Castillo-Serrano. Ana Angelica Pedro Juan was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in the operation.

    January 2015 — Rafael Alberto Cardena-Sosa was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for participating in a family run sex trafficking organization. His family member, Carmen Cadena, pleaded guilty and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The two family members are responsible for luring young women and girls from Mexico and illegally smuggling them into the United States. They then imposed a smuggling debt and forced them into prostitution with physical force and death threats.

    January 2015—Three brothers, Jorge, Ricardo and Leonel Estrada-Tepal pled guilty to sex trafficking charges. The Mexican nationals illegally transported females from Mexico to the United States and forced them to work as prostitutes in various cities. They face sentences ranging from a minimum of ten years behind bars to a maximum of life in prison.

    September 2014—Charles Marquez was sentenced to life in federal prison for recruiting women in Mexico by placing an advertisement in Ciudad Juarez offering jobs in the United States. Once recruited, he harbored them in motels and forced them into prostitution. He worked with Martha Jimenez Sanchez who faces up to ten years in prison after pleading guilty. Sanchez was released on bond and is awaiting sentencing.

    May 2013 — German Rolando Vicente-Sapon, an illegal alien, was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for illegally smuggling and trafficking a 14 year old Guatemalan girl to Chattanooga, TN for $2,000 and coercing her into having sex. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

    March 2013 — Susan Lee Gross was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her role in using a massage parlor as a front for a prostitution house. She transported women to work as prostitutes at her parlor and laundered the proceeds. Gross made them travel to various places around the United States. The women were originally from Korea and some were unlawfully present in the United States. Most lacked language and employment skills.

    March 2013 — Moonseop Kim, who was illegally in the country, pleaded guilty to illegally transporting women from South Korea into Mississippi for financial gain with a sex trafficking organization. He posted an internet ad offering Korean female escort services. He is facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison as well as a deportation following the completion of his prison term.

    July 2012 — Omelyan Botsvynyuk and Stepan Botsvynyuk were convicted of recruiting workers from Ukraine and forcing them to work through physical violence and threats of sexual assault. The victims never received compensation, but were rather instructed to work until their debts, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, were paid off. They told victims that their families would be kidnapped and forced into prostitution if anyone attempted to escape. The two brothers were found guilty and received sentences of life plus 20 years in prison and 20 years.

    October 2011 — Edk Kenit and Choimina Lukas pleaded guilty to document servitude and labor trafficking. The Micronesian couple recruited the victim from their home country to become their domestic servant. When she arrived, the couple took her passport in order to compel the victim to work for them. The couple prevented the victim from having friends, going out of the house or participating in social gatherings.

    January 2011 — Lucinda Lyons Shackleford was indicted on charges of forced labor and document servitude (The withholding of an individual’s legal documents). He promised to take care of the victim after placement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Family Reunification Program, but instead forced him to engage in various types of labor. Shackleford failed to provide him with adequate food or any form of payment for his labor.

  9. With the above said, it was a moving video. It just bothers me how they make it look like a fun romp in the desert, when the reality is that they were in a chilling amount of danger, and would likely have been robbed, assaulted, sold, run out of water, lost, or any number of calamities.

  10. Regarding ChipKelly — when someone is making a complete fool of himself, you all should stand aside and let him do it.

    As for the ad, it seems to picture the trek as no more dangerous than a class trip and it promotes illegal behavior.

    1. How can you “stand aside” on a blog that only allows comments. The most you could do is not type…. stand aside? We’re not at a town hall.

      Y’all need some younger posters here.

    2. Jt promotes illegal behavior everyday this site is up with the “founding fathers” promoted as some sort of angelic figures (it’s good fodder for humor though).

  11. Right. Let’s romanticize a lone woman and young girl, paying coyotes and walking across the desert to immigrate here illegally to America.

    Let’s forget all about all the dead kids absolutely littering that landscape, as well as those sold into sexual slavery by said coyotes.

    The facts are that most of the world is run by dictators who abuse human rights, and that billions upon billions of people live in poverty, short of food, in unsafe areas. Most of the world would like to live in America. We literally cannot take them all, even if we seized all farms, parks, open space, and national parks, imported all food and water, and we all lived in skyscrapers. We don’t have enough room or resources. We have millions of immigrants, and yet the world is still an unsafe, poor, violent place.

    There are many tragic stories all around the globe, and I hope we can do our part to help. That does not mean that we must have an open border and no immigration laws. The poor immigrate here legally every single day. The only reason why those in Mexico and South America come here illegally is because we have shown them that it’s OK. We have a porous border, we have many benefits and programs designed exclusively for illegal aliens, including taxpayer subsidized car insurance in CA where they are allowed to carry less liability insurance than legal residents. It’s not their fault that they come here illegally. We encourage and enable it.

    If we make illegal immigration nigh impossible, forcing everyone to go through the system, then we will no longer agonize over what to do with all the illegal immigrants. The problem would finally be solved in a generation. All immigration would be legal, and the participants thoroughly vetted, treated for illness, and given the appropriate support to integrate into our society. And anyone who violently broke our laws while here on a visa or applying for citizenship would be deported and barred from entry.

    We say who, when, and how many may come so as not to import the very people terrorizing others into fleeing here.

    As for the reasons why so many flee their homes – we are terrible at nation building and exporting democracy and Western values. We sincerely tried to tame the Middle East and create a Western nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it failed miserably. It cannot be forced from the outside.

    We can help dig wells and landscape to help recharge aquifers in countries hit with drought. But what can we do about the dictators, tyrants, corruption, organized crime, and religious extremism that is the very reason why the majority of the world lives in misery, poverty, and disease? I hope we can solve this crisis. We’re not allowed to conquer the world and force our values down everyone’s throat as the Romans did, paid for out of the treasure of the conquered. So barring that, I really don’t know what we can do to stabilize so many countries who just don’t want to be like us. I hope someone smarter than me can help the world.

  12. For the record, it is unknown and unknowable whether the video production Fox refused equals the video posted @ Journey84. This is not a subtle point. The video Fox refused could be infinitely more controversial.

    I doubt he’ll do it, but I respectfully request JT add this information to his post.

  13. Good point. When are the employers of illegals going to be arrested and sent to the country farm to chop cotton and pick lettuce? That includes the Hollyweeds and their house and garden and pool cleaners.

    1. When the rule of law actually applies… we don’t live in a fantasy land as Jt attempts to portray. The law applies only to those with little resources and power.

      Why aren’t bush administration officials imprisoned?

      1. Not to late for that i like to see the lefts very own right wing Rinos’s pay the price for their sins. Clean your own party first. Oh…which of the six new fractured Democrat Party splinters for you. I’m guessing white ID secular repressive extremists. Now the Afro-Americans are taking it over where you going to run to? Sad Boy Sad Boy when no one comes for you.;

        1. PS you should have taken Writing or something instead of becoming a tape recorder.

  14. It’s OK as long as at the end we show our border enforcement officers interdiction and explaining how they can legally enter the greatest nation in the world. Provide them with the appropriate documents to submit for entry to the greatest nation in the world. Then the scene changes to waiting and smiling Mexican border officials who they are immediately turned over to and given a ride back home.
    Closing credits would be something like “84 Lumber welcoming all immigrants to America legally. Stop by your local 84 Lumber store and get free applications for legal entry to the greatest nation in the world”.

    1. Hahahahahaha this post is hysterical.

      Encapsulates this blogs values well.

      We enjoy genocide, brutal caste systems, and raw power, at the turley blog!

      Yay for America! USA! We’re so exceptional!!!!!

      1. We are absolutely the best! I see more people trying to get into her versus those trying leave even those threatening to leave and Don’t.

  15. They’ll definitely both lose and gain business. But if that’s their values, more power to them for standing up. However, an American worker cannot lose her job to the lower paid illegal immigrant unless the employment is also illegal. In which case, the only job the employer would be willing to provide is one paid illegally under the table at below-minimum wage rates. Is that the job you’re fighting for? Less than $7.50/h with no benefits for an American?

    1. Shit people on this blog would let poor working Americans work for pennies. I remember talking about participating in a fight for 15 march on here and I was completely ridiculed. Plus, jt never delves into the wage debate much because as a us prof he’s merely an extension of the business class in the states.

      1. That’s because you never debate? The rule is when you state your premise as you just did you are responsible for providing a set of facts, definitions etc. If youi dont the rest of the world just says, “Huh? Duuh? It’s like What usimg up half the vocabulary of California? Don’t forget to end sentences with a question mark?

        Basic Debate 101 if there is no start point thee is no debate? Ahhhhhh that means you can say 15 three times and it will mysiticall y mean something. Got it?

    2. Gee, Elena I guess you never heard of the “Tijuana Three for” where you get a SS card, US driver’s license and voting registration when you cross the border from your friendly, hometown Coyote. Talk to any US Marshal they get ’em all the time. That’s all they need to “fool” the willingly fooled employer who alters time cards or just pays under the table. Get creative, Elena, the crooks are.

  16. It’s a rather disingenuous attempt at advertising through extremely controversial subject matter. Do I really want to go to 84Lumber to find out whether mom and daughter made it to El Norte or whether the vigilantes and Border Patrol caught them first? Not really.

      1. Apropos. Is Trump U. the only unaccredited school with tuition costs exceeding University of Phoenix? I’ve seen better predatory advertising from the “Be All You Can Be, . . . in the Army” commercials. Pretty bad.

  17. It was rejected by fox but no mention of the potential first amendment issues there.

    The commercial is excellent. I’m glad fox rejected it, thus revealing their values. I’m surprised the jt blog links to such a radical commercial. That’s a communist infaltration to many people on here. Run for your lives!!! They look different than us!!!

    1. First, Chip there is no First Amendment issue here vis ‘a vi Fox and the 84 Lumber, as anyone faintly associated with the FA knows and. secondly, you must have us confused with BuzzFeed. We actually look at the other side’s viewpoint no matter how stupid or one-sided it is. Speaking of one-sided, where’s the American mother who lost her job to the lower paid illegal immigrant. Not worthy of mention, I suppose to our benefactors at 84 Lumber.

      1. So there should be no fa issues with cal Berkeley?

        Students certainly should have a say (like private companies) over who is allowed to speak at their campus. Just like fox is allowed to reject this ad.

        1. Good golly, you really have no idea what you’re talking about. Cal-Berkeley is a state actor and, of course, cannot sit idly by while the Orcs deny First Amendment rights to another person like Milo. Keep swinging, Chipster, because I once saw a chimp hit a softball during a 7th inning stretch. He took less tries though.

          1. A student is not always a state actor, only when they are acting on behalf of a state school; otherwise I this little thing called freedom and a right to privacy applies. This blog can’t appreciate such things because of the students viewpoints, but that’s real.

        2. Students by definition should be studying real subjects and not wasting time on peripherals like basket weaving, theory of ding dongs and introduction to twanger plunking.

          But they aren’t Instead they go to universities ….for what? To learn to be part of the collective and tap dance on command from first grade to another first grade to another first grade…..

          1. Your posting this on the blog of a man who literally took the most traditional route to his position known in the industry. Not everyone lives a life based on how it looks to a slim group of backwards conservatives. Have some self-awareness

        3. Chip,
          Republican students at State institution UCB invited racial Jewish homosexual (in CA the latter gives Milo “Protected Class” status) Milo Yiannapoulos.

          If you don’t know the FA difference between the above and a private entertainment industry, I suggest you look into it before posting more 1st grade level legal opinions.

          Second, so-called “Antifa” (fascists masquerading as anti-fascists) rioters destroyed at least $100k worth of citizen owned property, and assaulted Rep. students (at least one investigative report indicates one Antifa criminal is a UCB employee). Your attempt to equate criminal activity to Fox refusing an obviously political ad is naive and/or nauseatingly ignorant.

      2. And no… this blog has about as much journalistic credibility as buzzfeed, but it’s more in-line with Breitbart or infowars.

        1. Well, glad to see you here with us so often, then. By the way, we’ll never reach the that lofty journalistic precipice inhabited by “Golden Shower Enterprises”over there at BF. How’s that follow-up going to that bit of yellow (yes, pun intended) journalism?

          1. Nah the intercept is more my style. Or Micah zenko, Erwin chemerinsky, chase Madar, etc….

            Authenticity > Superficial status (jt blog aspirations)

        2. Who? Journalism? Oh you mean propaganda? Journalism isn’t taught nor used in the USA anymore just like education

        3. During Tucker Carlson interview about a week ago, BuzzFeed editor told Tucker he believes he has moral and ethical right to bar white men from applying for a journalist job at BuzzFeed.

          Right up Chip’s alley.

      3. And I’m sure those cute posts by jt asking the readers: “which crime did I commit” includes a list of possible legal defenses or a practical explanation on behalf of the defendant… so much for letting the “other side” have their day.

          1. So if you’re charged with a crime you want your defense to be “in jest”

              1. lol you’re obviously not worth engaging in any type of discussion….. another common enemy to the majority. You’re like a jt minion (you and Darren smith haha).

                1. Typical left wing fsscist war monger secular repressive cop out. Run bambi run it’s diaper changing time.

              2. Is torturing mainstream, then? Because bush and his crew are still free after our torture regime they implemented.

                1. Do you mean Bush the RINO President and leader of the right wing OF THE LEFT.? Can’t blame your right hand for what your left is doing …..

          2. Reading more should be fundamental for the folks on this blog… expand your ever so limited echo chamber.

            1. OK folks yoiu heard the pre programmed mantra of the day from Carville And Lykoff. OK we can go on with life and come back tomorrow for tomorrows badly reframed poorly redefined Pelosillyni-ism. Get your Botox here!

  18. I just want to watch football today. Can we get away from the politics for one second please?

      1. No this is just a good a place as any. I remember when football was football and the players were athletes not drama majors. Now that the regressives of Madison Avenue have taken over the game to fit their ad schedule and have decided to inundate us with garbage I’m going to put NFL on the memory shelf along with the Olympics and try World Cup Soccer. Guess whose not going to see any of the quarter million for fifteen second ads for the sponsors products or services?

        But for those I find out about the go on my boycott list. It’s like water torture. One drop at a time and one less customer Drip Drip Drip

        And one more vote for those who had their game interrupted with what is, after all, only a game.

        1. Good point. This blog is more open to discussing sport than politics and law.

          Revealing.

  19. I’m just worried about those sitting next to you (you may be in first class so less worries there). After princes name drop, I’m not sure what jt will actually be doing on that plane.

  20. A flight to Guam? Lol ever so interested in the public interest?

    What group is funding this foray to a luxurious hotel?

    1. The only appropriate reply seems to be :

      Your mom is funding it. We’ll all say he for you.

      1. Say “he” for you??

        I don’t know what that means. For all the supposed intellect around here, that’s rather inarticulate.

      2. And the funding source for it on the island is quite relevant. His title is “public interest law” professor.

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