Fox rejected a construction company's Super Bowl ad because it was too political

pulse

January 18, 2017 6:02 PM

Fox, this year's Super Bowl broadcaster, has rejected a big game ad from construction-supply company 84 Lumber because it was deemed too political, Campaign first reported.

84 Lumber wants to use the Super Bowl to recruit more staff.

The ad had featured a "wall" blocking people in the US from looking for work. The idea behind the 90-second spot — a huge ad buy likely costing the company around $15 million — was to boost recruitment at the company.

Advertising agency Brunner has now been sent back to the drawing board and new ad is currently in production, ready to air during the big game on February 5. However, 84 Lumber still plans to put the original spot online on the same day.

Brunner sent Business Insider this statement on behalf of Brunner CEO Michael Brunner:

"Fox rejected our original commercial because they determined that some of the imagery, including ‘the wall’ would be too controversial. So we went back and revised the spot to make it acceptable to them. 84 Lumber challenged us to create a thought-provoking 90 second spot that would tell the world who 84 Lumber is and what they stand for – a company looking for people with grit, determination and heart, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they look like. And while that full story will no longer be told on TV at the Super Bowl, we all believe too strongly in that message to leave it on the editing room floor. So we are going to launch it during the Super Bowl and make the full story available online."

Fox and 84 Lumber declined to comment.

Fox is reportedly charging advertisers just over $5 million for a 30-second advertising slot during the Super bowl. In December, Variety reported that it had sold almost 90% of its Super Bowl ad inventory.

Keep up to date with all the latest Super Bowl advertising news here.

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