Nationwide’s Super Bowl commercial that ended with a dead kid sparked such outrage and social media fury that the company was forced to issue a statement — but no apology.
Nationwide’s statement, from NBC News: “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. … While some did not care for the ad, we hope it served to begin a dialogue to make safe happen for children everywhere.”
The commercial, which aired during the first half of the game, was filmed from the perspective of a little boy who talked about all the things in life he would never do — from riding a bike to getting cooties from a girl’s kiss — because he “died from an accident,” he said. An open second-story window is shown in the background, and then the camera cuts to a shot of an overfilled bathtub, then chemicals under the sink and then a TV that has fallen over.
The ad was quite a downer for football fans, especially when considered in comparison to some of the other heart-pulling spots — like one from McDonald’s that touted a Valentine’s Day campaign to pay for food with hugs, or expressions of love.
Mashable reported LostLettermen.com tweeted of the Nationwide ad: “In response to McDonald’s pay with hugs campaign, Nationwide will allow you to pay for insurance with DEATH.”
And another Twitter user posted a screen shot of “The Lion King” scene where the baby lion tried to wake his dead grown lion caretaker with the icon of Nationwide in the corner, Mashable reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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