Jan 11, 2017 3 min read

84 Lumber Co. has commissioned a Pittsburgh advertising agency to create its first Super Bowl ad.

The country’s largest privately held supplier of building materials said in a news release it commissioned Pittsburgh-based Brunner to produce the ad, which will be the launch of 84 Lumber’s yearlong national recruiting campaign.

The company acknowledged that it faces a challenge with the ad, not just because it will compete with ads for beer, cars and snack foods. While the company has long been a household name in the home building industry, it is largely unknown among the mainstream audience who will be watching the Feb. 5 Super Bowl.

It wants to use the 2017 campaign to recruit people to work for it as it rekindles a national expansion that was halted during the Great Recession.

“For 60 years, this has been a company defined by its people, entrepreneurs who see opportunity where others don’t,” said 84 Lumber owner and President Maggie Hardy Magerko. “Our next 60 years will be no different. That’s why we’re casting a wider net; we want the world to know 84 Lumber is the place for people who don’t always fit nicely into a box.”

The company’s Super Bowl spot is the launch of a national recruiting campaign for its management training program. The campaign is targeting males’ ages 20 to 29 that want to take control of their careers and embody the entrepreneurial spirit that has defined 84 Lumber.

Brunner, which has been 84 Lumber’s agency partner in a variety of capacities for nearly a decade, is handling creative, public relations, digital, social media and media buying. The agency’s award-winning director Cole Webley will direct the 90-second spot that will air just before halftime.

The company, agency and director aren’t disclosing the creative details, but say the purpose is to incite a broader conversation about careers in the home building industry.

“Our industry is going through a period of extreme disruption,” Hardy Magerko said. “And I’ve always preferred to be the one doing the disrupting, rather than the one being disrupted.”

“But to do that, we need to hire and train people differently. We don’t need more people interested in doing the same thing that’s always been done. We need more people interested in creating their own path for themselves and for 84 Lumber.”

Founded in 1956 by Hardy Magerko’s father, Joe Hardy, 84 Lumber Co. is headquartered in Eighty Four and is the largest privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components and industry-leading services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings.

It operates more than 250 stores, component manufacturing plants, custom door shops, custom millwork shops, and engineered wood productcenters in 30 states, representing the top 130 markets in the country.

A certified women’s business enterprise owned by Maggie Hardy Magerko for the past decade, 84 Lumber was named as one of Forbes’ Best Midsize Employers in America 2016 and Forbes’ Largest Private Companies in America 2016.