It was an ad that crushed viewers as thoroughly as any linebacker could — and an epic fumble in the annals of Super Bowl advertising.
On the night when one of the biggest television audiences ever had tuned in to watch what turned out to be a thrilling game, Nationwide Insurance stood out with a crass and horrifying commercial that is easily the most depressing Super Bowl advertisement of all time.
Midway through the second quarter, Nationwide unveiled the spot promoting its new child safety campaign. The special effects laden commercial featured a cute little kid talking about all the amazing, incredible things he’d never do — because at the end we learn he is dead.
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It’s fair to say that the ad made an impact, party goers everywhere were left in shock and social media exploded — in the worst way possible.
The response to Nationwide’s “Make Safe Happen” child safety campaign was like a tsunami of unfavorable and mocking comments. It generated over 238,000 social mentions of which 64% were negative, according to Amobee Brand Intelligence, a digital marketing technology company.
There’s an old Madison Ave. adage that holds any commercial capable of snagging the public’s attention is a good one — but there’s a line that was crossed here: dead kids should not be fodder for commercial exploitation.
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Yet advertising executives are praising the ad and especially its timing calling it a winner — simply because it has attracted so much attention.
“Accidental child death is a terrible tragedy and it comes when no one is expecting it,” said Benjamin Hordell, partner at DXagency, a firm that has provided creative services for brands, including HBO, DIRECTV, Sears, Kmart, Viacom and Madison Square Garden.
“As the ad depicts, a fun time of the day like bath time can unfortunately end in tragedy. The juxtaposition of the ad and it’s subject matter with the fun festive event of the Super Bowl was on point. It essentially was a PSA … The bottom line is that people are talking and if it saves a child’s life, it is worth it. Nationwide took a bold step to show people that they care about people, not just their customers,” said Hordell.
Nationwide, which dropped a whopping $4.5 million (the going rate this year for Super Bowl ad time) of course, defended the spot Monday and even claims it had nothing to do with selling insurance.
Right.
“Preventable injuries around the home are the leading cause of childhood deaths in America,” company officials said in a statement. “Most people don’t know that… (the) ad during the Super Bowl… started a fierce conversation. The sole purpose of this message was to start a conversation, not sell insurance… While some did not care for the ad, we hope it served to begin a dialogue to make safe happen for children everywhere.”
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A noble cause for sure and one that points curious clickers to a Nationwide website – but on a night when viewers are accustomed to ads featuring beer, and hyper-sexualized nonsense, Nationwide’s ultimate moment on the world’s biggest stage was horrifying.
