Super Bowl commercials have evolved a lot since the days of ubiquitous bikini-clad beer models, but even in 2015 — a year in which spots about domestic violence and feminine hygiene products won widespread critical acclaim — there are still some topics too taboo for audience to handle, it seems.
Storified by CBC News Community ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 22:48:36
Welp. http://t.co/PBxAV8t3PZ ·
Jared Smith
Super Bowl commercials have evolved a lot since the days of ubiquitous bikini-clad beer models, but even in 2015 — a year in which spots about domestic violence and feminine hygiene products won widespread critical acclaim — there are still some topics too taboo for audience to handle, it seems.
"Dead children," as it turns out, is one of said topics.
Nationwide Insurance has been dealing with an avalanche of backlash and mockery since Sunday evening, when a spot for its #MakeSafeHappen campaign aired during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLIX.
Make Safe Happen - Nationwide 2015 Super Bowl Commercial ·
nationwideinsurance
The ad starts out innocently enough by following a mop-topped youngster as he goes about his day.
"I'll never learn to ride a bike, or get cooties," he says after being kissed by a girl on the cheek. "I'll never learn to fly or travel the world with my best friend ... and I won't ever get married."
"I couldn't grow up," the child deadpans to the camera, "because I died from an accident."
Uh... what?
The little boy's bombshell is followed by an eerie shot of an overflowing bathtub with a text overlay that reads "the number one cause of childhood deaths is preventable accidents."
Dailymail
Unlike most of high-profile Super Bowl ads to air in recent years, Nationwide's "Boy" was held back from being released on YouTube ahead of the game.
The American insurance company had chosen instead to debut the ad on television during the Super Bowl broadcast.
Chatter about how "depressing" and "dark" this year's crop of Super Bowl ads were had already started on the #SuperBowlAds Twitter hashtag when Nationwide's #MakeSafeHappen spot aired.
The presence of a child speaking from beyond the grave set fire to that sentiment, prompting tens of thousands to express how horrified / bummed out / disgusted / shocked / confused they were on Twitter.
#Nationwide your ad is extremely offensive and insensitive. As a mother who lost her child in a drowning accident, I'm disgusted. #SuperBowI
— Kristine Schellhaas ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 00:48:27
And I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from nationwide. WTF was THAT all about?
— Micah Martin ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 03:36:48
My kid is still asking questions about the Nationwide kid and whether he really died and why did he say he died. #greatad
— Mollie ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 16:28:43
My reaction after the nationwide commercial: http://t.co/1UDv45zmZB ·
James C. Statton
I still can't get over that Super Bowl ad from @nationwide. It wasn't just depressing, it was downright offensive.
— Paul McNamara ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 16:33:45
Seriously??? This #nationwide commercial is the worst....death of a child??? How was that a good idea?
— Irish / Gail ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 00:26:20
Thanks for the super overt emotional manipulation, @Nationwide. Did you not consider the parents who've lost kids who might be watching?
— Rosemary Pennington ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 00:26:46
Even before the big game had ended, media outlets, ad critics and many on social media were already declaring Nationwide's "Boy" 2015's worst Super Bowl commercial. Ironically, the company's second spot — which featured Mindy Kaling and Matt Damon — was hailed as one of the best.
"Should you have missed [Nationwide's] attempt at mass manipulation, it featured a little boy who will never learn to ride a bike or learn to fly because he's dead," wrote Chris Matyszczyk for CNET. "The point, you see, is that, according to this advertiser, the No. 1 cause of childhood death is preventable accidents. So buy our insurance now!"
Bustle's Lindsay Denninger remarked that "this tone-deaf commercial is like the end of The Sixth Sense, except we are all eating spicy, cheesy nachos and seeing dead babies instead of Haley Joel Osment... Nationwide didn’t read the room of screaming football fans quite right, and boy, oh boy, was the Internet ready to throw Nationwide to the wolves in Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial."
"Is there ever a good time to run a commercial in which an adorable little boy describes the life he'll never live because he drowned in a bathtub?" asked New York Magazine's Margaret Hartmann. "Possibly, but millions of shocked TV viewers felt the first half of the Super Bowl wasn't it.
In response to the backlash, Nationwide issued a press release on its website Sunday evening. It reads:
"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. 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."
Press Releases | Nationwide.com
The Nationwide newsroom has the latest Nationwide news, press releases, archive information and more for those interested in covering one of the Nationwide family of companies.
The President of Ogilvy & Mather New York, the advertising firm that had created the spot, also defended the ad on Twitter.
Truly proud of our #client @Nationwide and my team @Ogilvy for #makesafehappen. The most brave and the most important film of #SuperBowlAds
— Adam Tucker ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 01:35:57
People on Twitter did not take kindly to his remarks, or to Nationwide's assertion that the ad was meant only to "start a conversation, not sell insurance."
"The last thing we need is for anyone to instigate a 'conversation' that will only heighten the fears parents already feel," wrote Jessica Goldstein for Think Progress. "The language in this statement is, if possible, even more off-putting than the ad itself: Nationwide wants us to know that 'the sole purpose' of the message was to get everyone talking about safety. It’s not about selling insurance! That would be so crass. How dare anyone suggest such a thing."
So @Nationwide spent $4.5M to "start a conversation"? Worst defense of a poor commercial ever. What a train wreck.
— Monish D ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 11:48:09
"We wanted to start a conversation about preventable accidents," says Nationwide, unaware of how much like a mob enforcer they sound
— NayrbTsoh ·
Mon, Feb 02 2015 16:22:29