I did not watch the Super Bowl.
I am a thespian that way.
I did hear about some of the commercials and one really piqued my interest and clearly that of others, I’m talking about the Nationwide ad with the little boy who died in an accident.
I have to admit when I saw this I thought yes, not because I’m a sicko, but because being a road safety advocate myself when I heard they were talking about accidents being the #1 cause of death to kids I knew what they were talking about. They are talking about accidents at home and they clump cars into that, my passion.
Being a road safety advocate I have learned that the word accident is offensive. It implies there was no other outcome. Today, the day after the Super Bowl, Nationwide defended it’s commercial saying, "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."
In the road safety world experts and biking enthusiasts hate the word accident, they prefer crash because most crashes are preventable.
Yet, when it comes to car crashes we tend to write them off as fate just having a hand in them.
The way the media writes about them such as “the car lost control.” Versus, the mom driving was distracted while typing in the phone number of a pizza place to order food.
Seriously, for some reason people do not want to hear it.
The commercial led people to a site called Make Safe Happen. A site that has been dedicated for over 60 years to making kids safer at home. Because the campaign and site are geared at injuries at home they talk about car seats, booster seats, heatstroke and driveway safety.
Americans are upset because they found it offensive?
I’m sure there were tons of alcohol fueled commercials and lots of big breasted women a plenty all being watched by little ones. I hate adult commercials for kids, I find it offensive that so many kids see such inappropriate material.
I heard the game ended with a brawl? That’s OK?
Here is a company trying to raise a cause for something that could possibly save a life. That’s at least accomplishing something.
Being passionate about car crashes in particular, I wish, of course, they would have talked about the way we parents drive. A crucial conversation that needs to happen and a way of life that needs to change but I am thankful for their coverage of car crashes at any level.
Maybe the commercial made a parent put down that extra beer before they drove home that day, who knows?