Yesterday, we wrote about Fox Sports allegedly rejecting Pittsburgh-agency Brunner’s 90-second Super Bowl spot for first-time big game advertiser 84 Lumber.
The agency declined to elaborate at the time beyond stating that it was working on “other options” for the ad. But today we received a statement from Brunner CEO Michael Brunner confirming that Fox did indeed rejected their originally-planned spot and that it had since been revised to appease the network.
It goes on to state that “while that full story will no longer be told on TV at the Super Bowl,” 84 Lumber and Brunner will still launch the spot online during the Super Bowl. The agency’s website also instructs visitors they can “See our Big Game spot for 84 Lumber here on February 5!”
Here’s Brunner’s full statement, which could not in any way be construed as a PR stunt pulled on behalf of client, agency or some combination thereof:
“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.”
As before, we have no details regarding the work that will eventually air during the game—a placement that will cost 84 Lumber approximately $15 million.