A $2.5 billion, 5,000-employee with 250 locations in 30 states will be running its first Super Bowl advertisement February 5, and it won’t be to get you to buy beer, a car, or host a website.
84 Lumber’s spot is aimed at getting new job candidates. The 90-second ad will run a bit before halftime.
The company’s ad agency, Brunner, tells me that the ad is the start of a year-long campaign to get management trainees for the company, recipient of a Forbes honor for best American mid-size employers.
84 Lumber’s owner and president, Maggie Hardy Magerko, says that the “industry is going through a period of extreme disruption. And I’ve always preferred to be the one doing the disrupting, rather than the one being disrupted.”
She adds: “We need to hire and train people differently. We need to cast a wider net, and to let the world know that 84 Lumber is a place for people who don’t always fit nicely into a box. We want people interested in creating their own path … for themselves and for 84 Lumber.”
She says that with this campaign, not for management trainees in general, she’s particularly aiming for males ages 20-29. (article updated January 15)