GLOBAL – Amid all the heartwarming ads featuring puppy-horse friendships and dads playing with their kids at this year’s Super Bowl, one spot’s morbid premise struck all the wrong chords and left most viewers feeling traumatized and sapped of all joy.
Nationwide Insurance’s ad started off with a young boy casually telling the camera about all the things he will never do: ride a bike, learn to fly, kiss a girl, get married.
In what is the saddest case of “that escalated quickly”, the child then reveals that he is dead. The video then shares a depressing statistic – that the number one cause of childhood death is preventable accident – before it shows potentially fatal scenes such as an overflowing bathtub and a television that fell to the floor.
People were quick to react.
“I would have appreciated the intent of this commercial if Nationwide had not taken the decision to show this during the Superbowl. This is a gut punch to anyone who has suffered a recent (or past) loss,” user ElinorRose commented on YouTube.
“Well that was mildly scarring,” another YouTube commenter, Artless Author said.
The commentary continued on Twitter:
In a statement, Nationwide explained the ad, saying its purpose was to start a conversation.
“Preventable injuries around the home are the leading cause of childhood deaths in America. Most people don’t know that. Nationwide ran an ad during the Super Bowl that started a fierce conversation. The sole purpose of this message was to start a conversation, not sell insurance. We want to build awareness of an issue that is near and dear to all of us-the safety and well being of our children,” the company said.
“We knew the ad would spur a variety of reactions. In fact, thousands of people visited MakeSafeHappen.com, a new website to help educate parents and caregivers with information and resources in an effort to make their homes safer and avoid a potential injury or death. Nationwide has been working with experts for more than 60 years to make homes safer. While some did not care for the ad, we hope it served to begin a dialogue to make safe happen for children everywhere,” it added.
