I'll admit that I watched the Super Bowl while multi-tasking on Sunday, so I didn't see all of the ads or even all of the game. (After the Patriots beat my Ravens in a very close game and "deflategate" reared its head, the Super Bowl lost some of its luster for me.)
However, I did see the Nationwide ad that has generated so much discussion. My reaction was probably different from many other viewers because of my background in marketing and journalism – and the fact that I cover the insurance industry. Initially I thought, "That wasn't what I'd expect of a Super Bowl ad," and then I realized that in the clutter of things that didn't really matter, this was one ad that would make a difference. It would save children's lives and hopefully make parents, babysitters and other child caregivers aware of how quickly these accidents can happen and how final some of them can be.
Nationwide chose a very public forum for getting people's attention about a life or death issue. Consider that the Super Bowl is the one event where everyone actually looks forward to the commercials. The pundits discuss how much advertisers spend on the ads and airtime to get their message across to millions of people. If the same ad had aired during any other show, the impact would have been lost and we would not be having this discussion.
The conversations on social media show that Nationwide took a gamble and, in my humble opinion, they succeeded in jump-starting a nationwide conversation on preventable childhood accidents. Yes, insurance is about managing risk and insuring for the unexpected, but as Nationwide has said, that wasn't the focus of their advertisement.
From a public relations and marketing standpoint, the amount of discussion and visibility the ad and its timing have generated confirm that the gamble Nationwide took paid off in a big way. In a universe where multi-media outlets and technology are constantly competing for our attention, they captured a jaded audience and made us take notice. Now the next step is up to all of us.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.