This ad rankled some people, with its journey of a couple of
undocumented immigrants as they find their way to the US border, and then they
go through the (as yet imaginary) border wall via a special door. It’s really
well done, and it definitely tugs at the heartstrings.
It’s also really easy to make fun of though, for detractors.
Simply show two ISIS terrorists making the same journey, and after going
through the door in the wall, they high five each other and go to an 84 Lumber
store, where they buy fertilizer and nails, screws and ball bearings, and then
we see them carry out a terrorist attack.
But understand, that’s just a joke version of this ad I’m
writing because I’m figuring, wrongly or rightly, that a lot of people on the
right will feel this way about the issue. And make no mistake: whatever you
think about this issue, eventually terrorists will sneak across our border to
perpetrate terrorist attacks if we don’t take border security a bit more
seriously. But I also understand that everyone hates each other so much based
upon politics these days that nobody will think of this issue rationally
anymore until that attack occurs, and then everyone will hate each other even
more, making it impossible to address the issue. But eventually this will
happen if we don’t get more vigilant. That’s not a dig at immigrants: let’s get
the immigration reform we need so we can let the good people in and stop the
ones who mean us harm. Can anyone disagree with that?
Anyway, here’s the beautifully shot and acted spot by 84
Lumber, which I love as a political ad, but maybe not as much as a
product/corporate ad, as it’s too bash-you-on-the-head-with-its-politics-y for
my taste for a product/corporate ad. (It’s also very socially divisive and will
make no difference to the policy outcome):
(BTW: I am very supportive of immigrants and I agree that we
should embrace them, and it’s what makes America great and all that, but at the
same time, we do have a record national debt, and we can’t take in everyone who
wants to come to America, and even if we could, we really should be able to
decide who gets to come and who does not. Every other country in the world
defends their borders, but not us so much. And we’re the biggest terrorist
target in the world, so let’s wise up about this stuff, please. Just make it so
people can apply easier, and let everyone know about it so they do that instead
of use coyotes to smuggle them in. Put the coyotes out of business, crush the
drug cartels, and let the nice people in that we can accommodate. Does anyone
disagree with that? So maybe this ad should have pushed for immigration reform
rather than illegal immigration with no end. Because the trip most undocumented
immigrants take is not nearly so peaceful nor so idyllic as this ad makes it
look. And that’s the sad truth.)
And to confuse matters even more, now the CEO of 84 Lumber
reportedly denies the meaning everyone got from their Super Bowl ad and says
she supports Donald Trump. Um… I’m confused now. Maybe she got a lot of hate
tweets or something and changed her tune? Or maybe she just never looks at her
company’s advertising materials? You’ve got me on this one: I have no idea what
just happened here:
