The most talked about Super Bowl commercial was aired by Nationwide insurance (above). It featured a tousled-haired boy describing all the milestones and adventures he would miss and then explaining that he would never do those things because he died in an accident, the number one cause of child deaths. It was manipulative, depressing and seemed to have no point whatsoever. Does Nationwide want us to buy insurance for our kids because they have a high likelihood of dying? Do they want us to buy insurance and then try to keep our kids safe so they’ll never have to pay out? According to social research company Amobee, the response on social media to that ad was 64% negative, making it the worst received ad overall.
Nationwide has issued a statement defending the ad, and claiming that they did market research ahead of time. They also have a companion website, MakeSafeHappen.com, that they’re plugging. Here’s their statement, via Buzzfeed:
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.
I heard the spokesperson from Nationwide on NPR’s morning edition and he said basically the same thing: that they tried to strike a balance and they they wanted to raise awareness of the issue of child safety. There was no apology and no acknowledgment that the ad was in poor taste. NPR also reported that people who have lost children were devastated by that ad.
It doesn’t make sense that the kid had to die. He could have said something like, “I can do these things because my mom/dad/sibling saved me from a preventable accident. When I was four, X happened.” He didn’t have to die, it was just a horrible ad and Nationwide is tone deaf for both airing it and defending it.
I scrolled through the Make Safe Happen website and it describes all sorts of scenarios that can be life-threatening for children, like swallowing button batteries. There are some useful tips for keeping kids safe, but all this information is readily available elsewhere. Plus, no matter what you do to keep your children safe, things are going to happen. My friend was just telling me how her son got a small object lodged deep in his ear, and how her daughter needed stitches from a freak accident. She couldn’t have prevented either of those things. Nationwide is not telling parents anything we don’t already know and are already vigilant about, they just wanted “to start a conversation” and get attention. Guess it worked for them.
Nationwide spokesperson Joe Case told Reuters that they’re considering whether to continue to run the ad. He said the response “was stronger than we anticipated” and “we’ll gauge whether or not to run the ad more.” He also added that “We care. We have a heart.” Why did the kid have to bite it then?
Here are some tweets about this ad. #BecauseIDied is also trending on Twitter.
Hi, I'm Rob Lowe and I have Direct TV.
Hi, I'm Bathtub Drowning, Detergent Eating, Television Crushed Rob Lowe and I have #Nationwide.
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) February 2, 2015
@vanessaau It's nice to have insurance after your negligence for sure kills your kids. #nationwide
— Sasha Pasulka (@SashRocks) February 2, 2015
Oh, hey, nice kid you got there. Be an awful shame if something were to HAPPEN to him. Like an ACCIDENT. #Nationwide #AlsoTheMafia
— Lon Harris (@Lons) February 2, 2015
I was way too happy when I got home today so I watched that dead #Nationwide kid and now I'm back to my baseline depression.
— Dr. B (@bthemd) February 3, 2015
The #weightwatchers commercial reminded me not to shove my feelings from the #nationwide down with #nachos
— Ana Gasteyer (@AnaGasteyer) February 2, 2015
My reaction after the nationwide commercial: pic.twitter.com/1UDv45zmZB
— James C. Statton (@jamescstatton) February 2, 2015
Never, ever, EVER get in a position where you have to explain an ad you spent millions to make. http://t.co/8SUplSeSEW #Nationwide
— Anne B (@abroshar) February 3, 2015
My friends will have a great weekend #BecauseIDied @midnight pic.twitter.com/5xaNEvpeL7
— eliseable (@inviolablevoice) February 3, 2015
Avocados don't make any money from scaring you about your children dying, just another quick fun fact about avocados.
— Avocado (@RealAvocadoFact) February 2, 2015
Dear @Nationwide: Why didn't you secretly film people watching your dead kid commercial, "Red Wedding"-style? Missed opportunity.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 2, 2015
I disagree. Just the image of the giant flatscreen having fallen over is a very useful message to more than a hundred million people staring at a flatscreen that very minute. Flatscreen injuries to children – some of them fatal – have become a serious problem now that TVs have gotten so big and heavy. Maybe some of those people watching will now take action to make sure that doesn’t happen in their homes.
We anchored ours the next day. Kept meaning to but this put me over the edge. Guess I can’t join the haters.
I don’t understand why people are so upset about this commercial. I mean, yes it was depressing and manipulative, but commercials are supposed to be manipulative!! That’s the whole point, right. And who knows, it might even save somebody’s life
I guess because the Super Bowl is America’s party and it was a huge bummer. Just a really weird time to air such a depressing commercial. I get that it also got a lot of views that way and if it actually saves lives then great. I have actually really enjoyed reading everyones hilarious tweets about it.
Well. Straight up emotional manipulation is one thing. Emotional manipulation preying on pretty much the worst tragedy that can happen to a family is another. Holding vigil with grieving friends after the death of a child, I can tell you, is a mind-boggling level of devastation.
I’ve cried at commercials where a chimpanzee used sign language to say thank you for a can of Pepsi. Or grandparents used video chat to see their new grandbabies. Or Kleenex did some montage of weddings and babies being born or whatever. Those are manipulative, but mostly innocuous.
The death of a child, though. You’re using extraordinary tragedy – under the guise of promoting safety – when you’re actually in the business of selling life insurance.
On behalf of the children whose graves I’ve stood next to and the parents whose despair was absolutely palpable and heart-rending, there’s no rational excuse for stirring up that abyss of grief in the name of commerce.
My little brother died on Super Bowl Sunday in 1987 from SIDS. It’s already a difficult day for my parents and I know they’ve lived the remainder of their lives with thoughts of what if’s about that day. I wasn’t with them on Sunday but I really hope they weren’t in the room when that ad aired. It gutted me and I was only 6 when he died. I’m not really faulting Nationwide, just that sometimes advertisers don’t think these things through.
Not worth it, child death leaves scars and this commercial can set the healing process back. Way too manipulative and we as a society should show some decency, there had to be another way to make their point.
I would’ve been ok with it if it hadn’t started with the whole “I’ll never get cooties” and the animated cooties. It looked like a cute little commercial, whimsical, and then they killed him. It’s the kind of thing I would come up with as a joke when I’m drunk, because I have a super dark sense of humor, and I would say, “Woulfnt it be funny to screw with people like this?”, but sober me knows it’s a terrible idea.
Dear Coco, May peace be with you and your family.
My husband had the same response as you and we talked about the time my son pulled a tv down on him when he was a toddler (before 60″ flat screens). He was fine but even today, I’m not sure how we could have prevented it because it happened really fast and when your kids are little, you are tired! You know what I mean?
That being said, I question their statistic. I still think car accidents are a bigger danger but what do I know. I also think there are better ways to start that conversation than “I died”. Fear and guilt are tools used against parents all the time and it really angers me.
Got everyone talking, therefore the ad was a success for the company. Its a shame as someone over here in Britain that I havent seen who actually won the American football game, but I’ve been countless articles about the ads. I hope the game was a good one!
The game was terrific and one of the best Super Bowl’s ever played.
The Patriots snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the final seconds of the game.
It was amazing. Butler!
@Kitten, Gerard?
O’ Kitt I sent you a congratulatory message in yesterday’s post on the win and hangover warnings.
But No response. Ingrate! *storms off*
Aw thanks, Jegede! Don’t storm off.
It was a rough day for me between the hangover from hell and getting battered with another huge snow storm.
We’re currently under 3 1/2 feet of snow and counting.
The snow banks in Chucktown are EPIC.
@lower-case deb-Ha ha…Malcom Butler 😉
@ Tippy – No, I disagree, they didn’t snatch it. Victory was literally handed to them in those final seconds. Why did they throw the ball when they were on the one yard line?!?!?! Russell Wilson could have just walked the ball over the goal line himself, for Pete’s sake! (Pun intended) Grrrrrr!!!! Congratulations to the Patriots, but Seattle will be back to win it next year. 🙂
And I was just confused why they would show such a depressing commercial during Super Bowl. I actually thought all of (with the exception of two or three) of the commercials this year were pretty boring or depressing. Definitely not Super Bowl worthy.
@ Lucky Charm,
Seattle lost because Malcolm Butler read it perfectly and made a fantastic defensive play.
If the pass was a TD, everyone would be praising Carroll for a BRILLIANT call, because the whole world expected it was going to Marshawn Lynch.
The rookie spoiled the surprise.
Hopefully the Seahawks can recover from this, but I’ve heard that they’re all playing the blame-game and things are getting really ugly in Seattle.
Agree with Celebitchy! Awful ad. “Start a conversation?” Yah, sure. Insurance companies are really into that.
Yeah I don’t know…this seems like fear tactics and playing on parents’ emotions to me
—and I work in insurance.
Basically. A whole new level of helicopter parenting and paranoia has just been initiated. As if mother’s didn’t worry and fuss over their kids enough already. Nationwide is manipulating their emotions for their benefit.
Kitten, I work in insurance too, and the biggest sales tool is always FEAR. This manipulation already bothers me, and when you cross insurance sales scare tactics with the current environment of television shock value, you get this disturbing Nationwide commercial. This is a great example of why I hardly ever watch television. It disturbs my peace of mind. *hides head in sand*
Yes, maybe the Super Bowl, where many people are enjoying it with friends and family, is not the best time to “start a conversation” about accidental deaths. Why would Nationwide want to rain all over peoples fun like that?
What’s worse is that any parents who have lost a child – for any reason, not just an accidental death – were totally sucker-punched. Hard enough to deal with the fact that they’ll never see their child grow up (on a daily basis) without Nationwide reminding them in the middle of an exciting football game.
Important message, but ridiculously bad time to drop it on people!
My friend’s daughter died in her sleep a few days after her second birthday. Her heart stopped, and the coroner determined she had an extremely rare heart defect. Her death was not an accident and not preventable, but the commercial still upset my friend because it again reminded her that her daughter does not get to experience all those things. I think it’s fine to let people know that accidents are the leading cause of death among children, but this commercial seemed to use scare tactics and depressed a lot of people (including me).
Exactly, TheOnltDee. Cruel to parents who have lost a child – and they didn’t have to make the child in the commercial dead. I’m sorry for your friends loss!
Oh my gosh. Your poor friend! That’s awful. 🙁
WORST ad ever. Period. Whoever spearheaded this campaign should be fired. That is ALL.
I agree 100%. I felt the ad was trying to manipulate my emotions to sell insurance first and then pretend to be a public service message so I didn’t think about how it was selling me insurance. Major fail. Fire someone….maybe the person that hired the market research firm?
Agreed. I went to the Nationwide Facebook page to check out what people were saying, and there were so many heartbreaking stories from parents that had lost children. The ad was like a slap in the face to them, completely insensitive and guilt-inducing.
The premise of the commercial is terrible enough, but coupled with the fact that they’re an insurance company doubles down on it. Buy our insurance because your kid is about to die in an accident.
What insensitive idiots.
+1
The reaction seems odd cause here in the UK we have ‘depressing’ commercials all the time.
One of the most highly rated was in the late 90s, showing actual home movies of different young children who had been subsequently killed by drunk drivers, with the narrator reciting a WH Auden poem as their names and faces appeared on screen.
It was one of the most heart-renching and I suppose ‘successful’ commercial in UK history.
I think the reaction is more about the venue in which they chose to show it. Super Bowl commercials are normally silly or outrageous. It just was so tone deaf.
We have Sarah McLaughlin guilt tripping us into donating money to dogs in shelters. I don’t see how there’s a difference.
Did that commercial debut at the Super Bowl?
Even your example though is different. It is widely agreed that drunk driving is a very, very bad choice and many of the people who do it are unaware of the potential consequences. Drunk driving is NOT an accident.
Nationwide was referring to accidents. They were laying shame and guilt on people who really are trying do to their best just so the company can sell insurance.
I think you can do your best and still stupidly loose a child by misinformation.
I saw that PSA once, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE, since then, I never ever forgot my belt.
Sometime, chock is what’s working.
I think that’s different. Super Bowl Sunday is associated with a high rate of alcohol consumption. The day after the Super Bowl is one of the biggest “call in sick” days of the year. Reminders about drinking and driving are relevant to the event — and serve a purpose beyond fear-mongering and grief manipulation. That said, it could perhaps be done in a way that’s less triggering to families who have experienced that tragedy.
I walked in a room where my dad – unbeknowst to me – had turned on the pre-game coverage and then gone upstairs. My six year-old was watching a pretty brutal drunk driving ad. That was more a personal family issue for us, but I am mindful of the many faces who are exposed to these commercials and how they are presented.
As a side note, my kid later saw a preview for Katy Perry and said to a room full of dudes, “Oh, I REALLY like her boobs!” And that’s why we stick to Netflix Kids the other 364 days of the year. From the mouths of babes…
So they wanted to start a conversation. I understand the point. I think they grossly miscalculated the reception and which conversation they would start. I think it was ill timed and ill advised.
I’m probably in the minority but I don’t think the commercial was bad. It was the timing that was horrible. Nobody wants to see this type of commercial during the Superbowl. If this was just a random commercial on a Tuesday night it probably would have been a conversation starter not a scandal.
Is that Julia Robert’s voice?
Wonder what she makes of it as a parent.
I think the idea behind it is good, showing examples of typical household accidents, the venue for showing it was probably wrong. Sup[erbowl ads are normally designed for humour
The commercial wasn’t that bad.
People just want another reason to feign outrage, people die, so do kids (unfortunately).
People spend three hours watching men literally smash each other with their bodies, brutally at times, but then get upset over an empty tub. …
Half ass backwards country we live in.
I’m glad it didn’t upset you. Perhaps if you had lost your child to an accident, and suffered the agony and guilt associated with that, and spent every birthday, holiday, graduation day, wedding day of friends’ children and birth of your child’s friends’ babies since in the heartbreaking silence that should be a celebratory milestone, you might have felt blindsided by these reminders in the middle of a ball game.
I’d agree with GNAT. I guess it boils down to what the company’s ‘goal’ is-and how they measure effectiveness. If their goal was to achieve a conversation about childhood accidents-I think they failed 100%. What everyone is having a conversation about is whether that kind of ad is appropriate at the Superbowl and just how depressing it was. Yes, child loss is depressing and accidents are a important discussion-but did they do it in a way that was going to be effective? How are they measuring effectiveness? It’s a ad-trying to sell insurance. Buy the insurance? The ad itself didn’t seem to serve any kind of purpose other than being grief p-R_n
I mean, I’ve had that conversation with myself a thousand times in the last year. Without getting into the nitty gritty details on the internet, we lost our infant son last year (to illness-not a accident). And I’ve spent time thinking about how we won’t hear him talk, or go to school, or learn to drive, or walk, or get married, or drive me crazy leaving his bed unmade, or fight with him about eating his veggies etc etc etc. There have been plenty of ads on TV since then that have broken my heart and could be tough for bereaved parents-but at least I could see the point to them. They are shilling this product to families. This nationwide ad? Not shilling anything other than trying to make people sad. It was a awful ad. I’m not saying that every ad company needs to tiptoe around people that might upset-but this ad was awful and served no purpose. I don’t buy that they did any market research on the subject at all.
Really sad to hear of your loss M and GNAT, it sounds like you’ve been through it too so FWIW my thoughts are with you both.
Different M then who posted & I’ll change my name stat. (((()))). Hugs to both of you. I agree that the ad was incredibly insensitive.
My reaction was fear and remembering a woman who lost her child to a dresser falling on the girl. The mother was devastated and at the time, I remember being terrified that I would somehow put my own child in peril by not seeing a danger before it happened. After the commercial, I didn’t feel empowered and want to start a conversation. I felt helpless that I might not be able to see every hidden danger out there and grateful my children are no longer so little. I can only imagine how I would have felt if my child had died. It really was tone deaf.
Some don’t know when to shut up and give in instead of making everything worse. Awful ad.
Well I had been drinking… But the thing that bothered me the most was how it was just a shitty concept because how can a dead kid talk to me? Clearly he wasnt dead. A voiceover would’ve been more logical. Again, I may have been tipsy…
Great ad. People in this country hate talking about death. especially kids. If the add keeps parents in the bathroom so kids don’t drown in bathtubs it was a success. And on.
Yeah, that actually happens all too often (and I am not being snarky). I know of a couple of children who have died because that has happened. So sad, so preventable. Also, parents of young children should bolt their furniture to the wall. I read a horrible story in HuffPo a few years ago in which a small child climb out of his bed and was climbing up his dresser to get something, and the dresser fell on him. Mom didn’t find him until it was too late. I had never thought such a thing could happen until I read that story. I was born in the 70s so I grew up riding bikes with no helmet and riding unstrapped in the back of dad’s pickup and for treats getting packages of candy cigarettes. When I was around 9 I had a motor boat. Seriously, a motor boat that I would take out by myself with no life jacket.
I was actually surprised to hear people didn’t know that accidents like this were the leading cause of death among children. I think the message was good, but the delivery was a little bit flawed… mostly because it just didn’t really fit in the middle of the Superbowl. There is definitely a difference between being a helicopter parent and being vigilant. I actually think a child getting something lodged in their ear and a child swallowing batteries are two situations that are ENTIRELY preventable. I am sure parents whose children die in accidents harbor an insane amount of guilt, and I feel bad if they were upset by this commercial, but I do think it’s good for parents to take some steps to prevent some of these things happening to their children.
Great ad? Really? Public opinion proves otherwise.
It didn’t specify preventable accidents in any way. It said accidents. My mind immediately went to misfortunes/things we can’t prevent (that is what an ‘accident’ means to me) and I felt immediately horrible. As it seems the majority of Americans did.
Even if it had been worded differently the timing for such discussion could not be worse. Super Bowls are when you get together in groups and have fun. If I had lost a child in ANY way it would have upset me even worse. It was like a sucker punch in the face for absolutely no reason.
i thought it was a thought-provoking commercial and very good. but i think people were not expecting something serious like that in the middle of the Super Bowl
I saw the commercial and I canot see why its controversial. I think people hate when commercials are direct they must be subtle about it.. which to me is an ok approach sometimes some people need a slap in the face to understand that anything can happen even death. if anybody want to see controversial look at uk commercials eg the one on motor neurone disease.
I agree. To me the commercial was about promoting safety. And to get upset about THAT is ridiculous.
This is the ad that gets people talking because it’s depressing? Is there any conversation about the domestic violence ad that aired? A few years ago the majority of the ads aired during the Super Bowl were about how to maintain an erection or get drunk or you’re not having a good time unless you have beer shoved down your throat. Now, this years ads were more direct in and in your face about every day life and that is what gets people upset. Okay.
Good point.
I would think never ending sexually suggestive contents, or violent toned commercials, would be as big a concern for parents of young children during an entertainment show.
I don’t think it was a bad idea, but it was definitely the wrong venue. I was at a Super Bowl party with my friends and all of our kids (six kids ages 12-5) and it certainly made an impact on everyone. Not really a good impact.
Like I said, the animal abuse commercials, the domestic violence ads, this ad, all serve a purpose, but I don’t think during the Super Bowl is the best time.
I should also add, that I didn’t realize that ad was for Nationwide until I read this article this morning. Not so much a success in that aspect either.
I actually think the Super Bowl is the best time as these purposeful commercials are guaranteed to reach a much larger audience then they could and any other venue. There are plenty of common sense elements of accident prevention that many folks do not know about.
I like the idea but I thought the delivery was insensitive & in poor taste. Sandwich a dead kid in between football & Katy Perry dancing with sharks……it seemed very odd. I agree with the article that the kid should have said “but I lived because…xyz”. I lost a cousin young to an accident & I’m mad that his wonderful & doting parents had to watch this ad. Yea- we all know he could have done great things but they don’t need to be reminded during a Superbowl party.
Some superbowl fan who never would have got this information just had a conversation with another dad and moved his dishwasher detergent. Children’s lives were saved. Would your cousin’s parents want other children to die so they don’t have to see something upsetting? Should we ban cancer awareness campaigns because people have lost family to cancer?
This wasn’t an awareness campaign, it was a commercial.
This was an insurance company exploiting an incredibly sensitive subject in an attempt to get the attention of the public, period.
Nationwide wants people to make sure their children are safe so they don’t have to pay out on life insurance claims. They have a vested interest in safety not because they care about children, but because they care about the bottom line $$.
Maybe I sound like cynical jerk but I work in insurance and make no mistake, it is not charity, it is big business.
Nicole- kitten said it very well. I like the idea but I did not feel it was appropriate in delivery, timing & occasion. Kids die from blunt head injuries in football too- they should have added that. It was a marketing ploy to get attention & it worked. I 100% agree with the article above that they could have delivered it in a more sensitive way which I stated above. I agree with the content not the delivery. And of course my aunt & uncle would want to save other children. That was a rude comment on your part- they lost a son for Pete’s sake & watched this commercial during a time they were unwinding with others. But maybe you & Nationwide have a sensitivity chip missing…..
The Ana Gasteyer and Weekend at Bernies are the best tweets about the commercial!
I think I must be the paranoid Mom or something because I was always so worried about potential accidents waiting to happen in my home when my son was little. I baby proofed my home to death! When I watched the commercial and it came to the “because I’m dead” part my immediate reaction was “WHOA!” because my brother in law lost a child in a drowning accident and I know he was watching the game too. How is Nationwide going to justify bringing that up for “discussion”?! I think it’s a bunch of B.S. on their part. The Mc Donalds commercial did the same thing on a much smaller level for people like me who have lost loved ones and can no longer hug or call them. They need to own the fact that when these were combined and the game was supposedly the most watched Superbowl ever that they really dragged down what was supposed to be a fun distraction for a whole lot of people.
Yup the Tweets are hilarious. The commercial was just weird and manipulative.
Agree! I feel a little bit ashamed for laughing because it’s such a morbid topic but, damn, some of these had me nearly in tears, especially ‘I would have run it with Lynch… but I died.
When our oldest was 7 he lacerated his kidney while learning to ride a bike….TOTAL freak accident but not necessarily avoidable. I think about that often and the fact that he spent 3 days in ICU behind it. This add was *completely* tone deaf because what do you say to those parents who are good parents and do ensure the safety of their kids and still lose them. It was the wrong place, time and way to start this conversation, in my opinion. More thought should’ve been put into this. And as someone said up thread, why not spin it with a positive outcome?
People should be aware that TVs can crush and kill children. People should be aware that dishwasher detergent is a poison.
This ad made me do a mental check on the deadly household objects they showed. Someone else made the same mental check and moved something out of reach or secured something to a wall. Your concerns pale next to the benefit of saving a child’s life.
I watched that add with my 27-year-old son. He had no idea TVs could kill.
It was a horribly depressing ad but it made for the best Twitter meme after the Seahawks decision to throw on their last play: A pic of that kid plus the saying “I would have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch but I died.” Awful but so funny.
That ad was horrible and showed incredibly poor taste. I used to work in advertising, and the agency who created that ad made some bad choices. I understand the message they were trying to get across, but there were SO many better ways they could have gone about it, which would have gotten their message across and left a more favorable impression with the viewers.
The vast majority of viewers prefer happy endings…. for instance – the commercial where the cute puppy makes it home safe & sound. If the insurance company (I won’t bother mentioning their name again since they don’t deserve it) had done an ad showing what COULD have happened to that little boy, and then showed a teenager or young adult saying, “And I DID get to do these things…. because my parents made sure that… blah blah blah” I’m certain the ad would have gotten an excellent review – for being touching AND uplifting.
I seem to be in the minority of people who didn’t loathe this commercial. Regardless of the possible gains to the insurance company for airing what might be a manipulative advert, it is true that there are an alarming amount of (at least possibly) preventable child deaths. I absolutely agree that not all child accident deaths could have or can be prevented, even with the most loving diligent parents taking great care, and I did feel bad that this commercial triggered shock and sadness to those that experienced a tragic death of a child. My friends tragically lost their two year old daughter when she tried to climb up a dresser and it fell on her, and until then it had never occurred to me that anchoring every piece of furniture (even things one wouldn’t assume could be pulled over by a small child) might be necessary or reasonable.
But a lot of folks seems to be saying: ‘Of course we know that children could drown in a bathtub! Of course we know enough to have child safety locks on cupboards that hold household cleaners! We’re not idiots, insurance companies!’ But perhaps this advert wasn’t intended to scare the parents out there that do take reasonable and appropriate measures to keep their children safe. I work with neglected children, and can say with alarming conviction that nope! Not all parents take reasonable measures to protect their children. Safety locks don’t cross the minds of all parents. Leaving small children alone in a bathtub doesn’t phase some parents. So I truly hope that some good came out of this commercial for some parents and that a life or two was saved because of it, even at the gain of an insurance company, and even at the heartbreak of families that had to relive their own nightmares.
Thought I recognized the voice over – Julia Roberts clearly agrees with their advertising strategy….
I like this commercial. Yes, it can be rough to watch if you have suffered the loss of a child but I’m getting tired of reading about tragic preventable accidents taking young lives. The one that sticks in my mind the most is the drowning death of an 11 month old boy in the tub. His young mother left him unattended in the bath cause she thought he was old enough that she didn’t have to watch him. I’d have this commercial or one like it air at every commercial break if it meant that it could prevent deadly accidents.
Am I the only one that felt more manipulated by that stinkin’ cute puppy in “Lost” the Budweiser commercial?
On a more serious note, I think these commercials could really offend people who have lost children by any of these tragic ways. You can’t argue though with the poignant picture of a fallen flat screen to serve as a reminder of the hidden dangers in our homes. Back in the day I had to call poison control my share of times for things that you can’t necessarily lock away under a kitchen sink. The ones that stand out…when my oldest ate a piece of grout from the tiles/tub area and when he tasted the snow melt outside, that last one horrified me.
Just showing the scenes of the broken tv, open cabinet, overflowing tub, etc., were the most powerful parts of the commercial to me. They could have just shown that- Effective without being insensitive to those who have lost children.
I never thought about the impact on parents who have lost young children. That really pisses me off. You are trying to watch a game & then are crushed with all the things your child could have done. And if only you had visited their website…….I think it was in poor taste. I watch my kids like a hawk & am paranoid about accidents but I can’t tell you the number of “what ifs” we’ve had. I try my best and have so much sympathy for parents who lost a kid from an accident. “God created mothers because he can’t be everywhere all the time” I saw that in a doctors office & thought what BS! Way to make a parent feel guilty. We can’t protect our children from everything, we can minimize, & not blame good parents for things that they had no control over. Ok- I am now going to the basement to build a bubble for my boys & bar the doors so they can never leave.
Worst Ad Ever. They will feel the backlash.
I thought it was a public service announcement. And an effective one.
The obnoxious thing (besides the timing) is that it was a disguised ad for an insurance company. The vultures are just trying to sell parents more insurance. If they cared about accident prevention beyond reducing the claims they already try not to pay – they would quietly donate to non-profits working on parent education in such matters and helping people childproof their homes. They could distribute detailed booklets with contact info when they send out their policies (you know, those multipage docs that in the fine print say they don’t promise to pay anything and can cancel your policy any time, such as when a hurricane is coming or when you even ask about a potential claim).
God, people really get offended by everything these days…