Half the people I know don’t actually watch the Superbowl for the football game – they watch it for the commercials. There is no better time of year for a company to advertise than during those few highly coveted hours every February. According to NBC Sports, CNN, and every other news outlet I could find, this year’s Superbowl was the most-watched television broadcast in U.S. history. It averaged 114.4 million viewers, most of whom were very sad and rather butt-hurt after Nationwide aired its controversial commercial, “Boy,” during the second quarter.
If you live outside of the U.S. or under a rock without internet access, you might be wondering, “Who is this Boy you speak of and how did he traumatize millions of people?” Let me break it down for you: a commercial opens with a young boy trying to ride a bike on a clean suburban street but his little asshole friends leave him behind. Then the boy rides a school bus and gets kissed by some random girl who has a scorching case of animated cooties. After that, the boy hang glides and sails a boat across a raging sea in what one can only assume is an attempt to get as far away from Cootie Girl as possible. Finally, the boy is seen wearing a tuxedo to a somber wedding that he laments will never happen.
This adorable little boy goes on to explain to the viewer that he’ll never experience any of these idyllic moments we just witnessed because he died in a household accident.
Bet you didn’t see that twist coming. No one else did, either – and were they ever pissed about it.
The scene changes to that of a flooded bathtub. The camera slowly pans into the open cabinet beneath the kitchen sink where dangerous cleaning chemicals were stored and detergent pods were eaten. Then, it moves to a television that fell. These images are extremely unsettling because they’ve come straight from the worst nightmares of every parent. They are intentionally disturbing. They will continue to haunt the viewer long after the commercial has ended, and that was kind of the point.
The number one cause of childhood deaths is preventable accidents that occur where children are supposed to be safest: at home. Looking beyond the obvious Sixth Sense reference (he was dead the whole time, OMG you guys!), Nationwide’s message is a very clear one: We cannot prevent every accident that might ever happen to our children, but we can and certainly should take the appropriate steps to minimize those risks.
We experience our day to day lives inside a “safe” little bubble that surrounds the four walls we call home. Predictability is woven through the very fabric of our routines. We are so comfortable within them that it’s easy to forget just how quickly our entire worlds could be shattered by one minor oversight. As “Boy” demonstrated, it doesn’t take much.
Nationwide’s goal was to raise awareness of potential dangers in the home, not to increase their life insurance sales and make a buck on the deaths of children as many people have come to believe. The delivery of the message was especially shocking because we’re so accustomed to insurance companies amusing us with advertisements that feature verbose geckos or white ladies named Flo that we don’t know how to react when they do otherwise. I get that. Being entertained during the breaks in our entertainment is something our society has come to expect, but some of the most important messages cannot be conveyed through humor.
“Boy” was one of them.
Good advertising gets people talking and Nationwide has definitely hit the mark. Was their commercial sad? You bet. Dead kids aren’t funny. Did Nationwide’s advertisement make people think about household accidents and consider how they could better prevent them? Abso-fucking-lutely.
That 45-second spot might be saving a kid’s life right now.
6 Comments
Well, I live outside the US so that’s my excuse for not having seen this, but damn, even from your article I get chills thinking about the commercial. I know I’ve started getting a little lax around my house (there’s just SO much to do!) but thanks for the reminder to stay on top of the important things–like keeping an eye on my precious little angels! Seems obvious but it’s easy to forget in the daily shuffle.
It really was a chilling commercial, I didn’t see it live because I didn’t watch the Superbowl, but when I watched it online after the fact I was like, “holy shit, that’s really disturbing.” I think we *all* need the reminder from time to time to keep us on our toes.
I couldn’t agree more. I worked for a company called Melaleuca for many years extoling the virtues of the products they sold that are amazing. Their cleaning products, if ingested by child, adult or pet, do not even require a trip to the ER. Maybe just a wee tummy upset for a short while. My friend’s aunt’s child got into their cleaning products under their sink and almost died. Thankfully, he lived but still sufferes from lung and resperitory problems these many years later. I introduced her to the product line, keep in mind, this was years ago before any stores offered anything even close to safe for children or pets. She wasn’t interested and still had not put safety locks on her lower cabinets. It baffled me so. I was told a few years later, she had yet another close call with another young child but caught it before it the child ingested any. I no longer work for Melaleuca but remain a loyal customer as they have many different types of environmentally, made in the USA products which I like. I am in no way here to promote Melaleuca but for God’s sake, take every measure you can as a parent, as I did when mine were little, to protect them from home dangers. My husband would get so pissed when I made him do things like secure the top of the buffet cabinet to the wall. “It’s not going anywhere, it’s so heavy!” Yeah, I know that but we have three kids under the age 10 who tussle and rumble through the house with two dogs!! Damn! I am glad Nationwide aired this commercial. They accomplished their goal. I do not know of one person who has not commented on it, either in social media or to other people directly. Good for Nationwide and good for you for this post!!
Oh I absolutely agree. As parents, we must take every precaution we can to protect children in the home. I love the idea of cleaning products with low toxicity for those very reasons – you just never know when a kid might be tempted to get into them. No matter how awesome a parent is, they can’t have both eyes on their kids 24/7. I remember the days of the safety latches (on every single cabinet) and the furniture ties (partly for earthquake-proofing when we lived in California, but also for child safety reasons). They were a hassle, quite often now that I think about it, but they’re so worth it. I’m glad Nationwide aired that ad, too – it really got people talking about the subject of home safety.
Like the position you take and love they way you’ve expressed it, too! I somehow missed that ad but, certainly got the seriousness and impact it has from your description. I applaud Nationwide for the public service/awareness it is trying to raise as well.
Thanks!! You can probably find the advert online (youtube?) unless they decide to air it again – I’m not sure if they will, it’s gotten quite a bit of hate from people who were upset by it. I applaud them for their message, too.