Published on Feb 5, 2017 
 
 The full, uncut 84 Lumber Super Bowl promotional film. See a mother and daughter’s symbolic migrant journey towards becoming legal American citizens. Contains content deemed too controversial for the original ad and banned from broadcast. ||||| Watch Queue Queue 
 
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 Disconnect ||||| The controversial Super Bowl commercial for 84 Lumber about a migrant family crossing the border into the U.S. was not meant to be “pro-immigration” or a political statement at all, the company’s CEO Maggie Hardy Magerko tells PEOPLE. 
 
 Hardy Magerko, who took over ownership of her family’s $2.86 billion company in 1992, says she is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and believes that a border wall – which featured prominently in the TV spot – “is a need.” 
 
 “We need to keep America safe,” the 51-year-old executive tells PEOPLE. “America needs to be safe so you and I can have the liberty to talk… The wall, I think it represents, to me, security. I like security.” 
 
 Hardy Magerko says she personally helped develop the commercial and its striking imagery, but her personal beliefs don’t play into the commercial. 
 
 “This came from the heart and I didn’t do it for personal gain,” she says. “It’s not about me or my beliefs or the wall, it’s about individuals… treating people with dignity and respect.” 
 
 She adds: “My intent was to show, through the mother and daughter, that through struggles we will do anything we possibly can to make [the world] a better place for our children. If I thought the wall was negative, I wouldn’t have had the wall.” 
 
 “There were many interpretations, but the message is in the eyes of the beholder,” adds Hardy Magerko, who took over Pittsburgh-based 84 Lumber from her father, now 94. “So, depending on what struggles and what you’re going through… it’s all in [the viewers’] interpretation.” 
 
 The ad, which features imposing shots of a U.S. border wall, is 84 Lumber’s first Super Bowl commercial and was initially rejected by FOX for being “too controversial for TV.” 
 
 The 90-second TV spot broadcast on Sunday featured a Hispanic mother and daughter making the treacherous journey north to the U.S. It cut off before the ending and urged viewers to go online to watch the full story. 
 
 The online ad, which is over 5 minutes long, ends with the mother and daughter encountering a wall at the U.S. border (something that Trump has repeatedly promised to build) – then finding a door built with lumber from a contractor, which allows them to enter the country. 
 
 The tagline, at the end of the full commercial, reads: “The will to succeed is always welcome here.” 
 
 It had a polarizing effect on viewers. Some took to social media to congratulate 84 Lumber for the company’s support of human rights and progressive policies, while others saw it as encouraging illegal immigration into the U.S. 
 
 “Of course, you get social media backlash,” says Hardy Magerko. “But there was more positive than negative far and away.” 
 
 Some social media users even threatened to boycott the company. 
 
 Just saw #84Lumber #SuperBowl ad encouraging illegal immigration. DUMBEST BIZ MOVE EVER. Customers will leave and never return. #MAGA — Scott Ernst 🇺🇸 (@ScottErnst0331) February 6, 2017 
 
 I won't be shopping at 84 Lumber again. Too bad. Was great place. Adios. #SuperBowl #84Lumber — Thomas Paine (@Thomas1774Paine) February 6, 2017 
 
 And others, were confused (especially when their site crashed after the ad aired). 
 
 #84Lumber spot was NOT meant to endorse illegal immigration. It was to remind us that immigrants (legal or not) are HUMAN. #SuperBowl — Xavier Gonzalez Jr. (@xgonzalezjr) February 6, 2017 
 
 Doesn't get 84 Lumber ad that they paid $10 million for. Goes to website to find conclusion. Site is down. — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 6, 2017 
 
 “At the core, this commercial is about individuals that truly are scared, whatever that might be, whatever their own journey might be,” says Hardy Magerko. 
 
 She goes on to say it was not her intent to use the commercial as a platform to make political noise. 
 
 Rob Schapiro, chief creative officer of 84 Lumber’s ad agency Brunner, echoes her reasoning for the creating this type of advertisement. 
 
 “The intention is about opportunity,” Schaprio, who filmed the spot in Mexico, tells PEOPLE. “We view it as a patriotic story. If you think of liberty’s torch as a beacon of light from the land of opportunity, that’s how we viewed that light coming through the door. Exactly the same as a beacon of light, we are a company of opportunity and a land of opportunity. 
 
 “It’s a very patriotic message. The flag that this young child creates, you see what that means to the mother and daughter. That’s the beacon of light we talk about.” 
 
 Some stories need to be heard. The journey of a lifetime begins 2.5.17. pic.twitter.com/PSAODyj3RL — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 2, 2017 
 
 Hardy Magerko watched the controversial ad play on Super Bowl Sunday with a few close friends in New York, while Schapiro watched from Pittsburgh, where both companies are headquartered. The two had worked closely together since November on casting and filming. 
 
 “We wanted to shake things up and I think we did!” says Hardy Magerko, still giddy from the explosive social media response. “During market research, we found that people 40 and younger don’t know about [the company], so I thought ‘Okay… let’s tie in what is going on in the world and, more importantly, with our beliefs and company ideals and [make a commercial].’ ” 
 
 .@Latinos4PP We will always support the American Dream. — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 6, 2017 
 
 Instead, Hardy Magerko says the advertisement, at its core, was meant to attract new, young employees for her growing business and to drum up new customers while “stimulating the housing market.” 
 
 “I believe in youth and being contemporary,” she explains. “We need to surround ourselves with people who will continue to build America and build 84 Lumber.” 
 
 Fortune favors the brave. pic.twitter.com/PczcVGjj94 — 84 Lumber Company (@84LumberNews) February 2, 2017 
 
 “I’m not taking a personal stance here. It’s about hope, it’s being patriotic,” says Hardy Magerko. “It’s hope for the future, it’s not knowing but standing together strong for all positives.” ||||| “We believe beer should be bipartisan, and did not set out to create a piece of political commentary,” Marcel Marcondes, vice president for marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev, said in a statement. “However, we recognize that you can’t reference the American dream today without being part of the conversation.” 
 
 In 2012, a Chrysler Super Bowl ad featuring Clint Eastwood was seen by some conservatives as pandering to President Barack Obama after his administration’s bailout of automakers. 
 
 In the case of 84 Lumber, Ms. Magerko said that Fox vetoed the initial idea based on a storyboard of the proposed commercial from Brunner, the company’s ad agency. That document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, said the commercial would show a mother and daughter on “an arduous journey north,” as American workers built a large structure. Their journey appeared doomed once they reached the wall until a patriotic symbol inspired them to find a massive doorway — which is what the workers were creating all along. The final line: “The will to succeed will always be welcome here.” 
 
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 Ms. Magerko, who said she voted for Mr. Trump, said the ad was meant to recruit employees in their 20s “who really believe in American dreams.” She expressed concern about the labor shortage her company is facing. She said she had a welcoming attitude toward certain immigrants, while providing the caveat that she had faith in elected officials to “make the decisions to make us safe.” 
 
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 “I am all about those people who are willing to fight and go that extra yard to make a difference and then if they have to, you know, climb higher, go under, do whatever it takes to become a citizen. I am all for that 110 percent,” she said. “But do I want cartels? Hell, no.” 
 
 It has become a marketing strategy of sorts over the years to intentionally create a Super Bowl ad that will never make it to air, then capitalize on online traffic. But Ms. Magerko said that was not 84 Lumber’s plan, noting that the company is still showing the edited 90-second spot that Fox has approved. 
 
 Ms. Magerko said that some people might think she was “as crazy as a loon to go out there and buy this enormous ad that makes no sense financially.” 
 
 “I’m sure I’m going to have economists and all these people say she’s an idiot, and maybe I am,” she said. “But I’m an idiot that has some money now that my people made for me, and I owe it to them to say that they’re great and I need more people like them.” 
 
 A company representative confirmed that it spent more than $5 million on the ad, which was the average rate this year for 30 seconds. 
 
 The company, which draws about $2.9 billion in revenue a year and has been rebuilding since the recession, is keen on igniting a conversation around housing and labor, she said. 
 
 As for immigration and the wall, “We didn’t know this was going to be the hot topic six weeks ago,” Ms. Magerko said. “We knew it was a topic. We didn’t know it was the topic.” ||||| The Super Bowl was full of ads with strong messages about inclusion and acceptance. And that didn’t go over well with everyone on social media. 
 
 Some supporters of President Trump quickly called for boycotts of several companies, including Budweiser, 84 Lumber, Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Kia and Tiffany. Their ads had messages about immigration, equality and environmentalism. 
 
 Even the NFL drew calls for a boycott for having Lady Gaga as the halftime show performer. She has called Trump a bully, and she supported Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign. 
 
 84 Lumber’s commercial was seen as largely pro-immigration. It featured a Hispanic mother and daughter setting out on a harrowing journey from their home. 
 
 The television ad directed viewers to a supplement online. The online ad showed the mother and daughter arriving at the U.S. border to find a looming wall. They eventually notice that the wall has a huge door, and they walk through. 
 
 The ad led some Trump supporters to vow not to shop at the building supply company. 
 
 One interesting thing about the 84 Lumber boycott is that the company’s owner, Maggie Hardy Magerko, said she voted for Trump. In fact, having a huge door in the wall is something Trump himself mentioned repeatedly in campaign speeches. 
 
 A Budweiser commercial also triggered a backlash for being anti-Trump and pro-immigration. The ad showed Adolphus Busch, one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch, journeying to the United States as an immigrant, only to be told he was not welcome. 
 
 A spokesman for Budweiser said 78% of the social media reaction that the company tracked was positive. 
 
 Airbnb’s ad about acceptance said “we all belong” — regardless of religion or country of origin. It didn’t sit well with some Trump supporters. 
 
 Coca-Cola’s “It’s beautiful” ad, which has aired since 2014, featured “America the Beautiful” sung in several languages. 
 
 Coca-Cola said the ad “promotes optimism, inclusion and celebrates humanity” and did not address Trump’s immigration order. 
 
 Kia’s commercial starred Melissa McCarthy, who appeared this weekend on “Saturday Night Live” and mocked the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. The Kia ad, set to the song “Holding Out for a Hero,” showed McCarthy encountering slapstick obstacles as she tried to save trees and ice caps. 
 
 A hair product company called It’s a 10 ran an ad that was far from subtle. Its message? “America, we’re in for at least four years of awful hair.” The idea was that we need great hair — all types of it. 
 
 CEO Carolyn Aronson said the response to the It’s a 10 ad “has been overwhelmingly positive.” 
 
 “We are not a political brand,” she said in a statement. “We created this ad to introduce the world to our brand in a lighthearted way. The focus is on embracing the diversity of America.” 
 
 Lady Gaga drew calls for boycotts both for the halftime show and for her spot for Tiffany & Co. Gaga’s Super Bowl show conveyed a message of inclusion, and she chose to sing the lyrics of her hit “Born This Way,” which promote LGBT equality. 
 
 The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
– The company owner who signed off on one of the Super Bowl's most controversial ads says she is pro-President Trump and pro-border wall—despite the 84 Lumber ad's depiction of a Hispanic mother and daughter finding a door in the wall. Maggie Hardy Magerko tells People that the ad wasn't supposed to be pro-immigration or even political, but to show that we can make the world a better place for our children through struggle. "If I thought the wall was negative, I wouldn't have had the wall," says Magerko, who believes a border wall is needed "to keep America safe." A company press release describes the ad as part of a recruitment campaign, with the door symbolizing "the doors that 84 Lumber opens for its employees." "Even President Trump has said there should be a 'big beautiful door in the wall so that people can come into this country legally,'" Magerko says. "It’s not about the wall. It's about the door in the wall." She tells the New York Times that she was "flabbergasted" by Fox's decision not to show the ad in full because it was deemed too political. If people have to "climb higher, go under, do whatever it takes to become a citizen. I am all for that 110%," she says. "But do I want cartels? Hell, no." KTLA reports that Trump supporters have called for boycotts of 84 Lumber and other brands with ads seen as pro-immigration, including Airbnb and Budweiser. (Airbnb followed up its ad with a campaign to house 100,000 people in need.)