Overlook the Delivery, It's the Message That Counts

Last weekend, you probably sat down with a record 114 million other people in the U.S. to watch the commercials and a Super Bowl broke out. For as long as I can remember, even if the game wasn’t competitive, you could always count on the commercials for entertainment.

Just like Monday morning quarterbacks going over the strategy from the night before, you probably found yourself in a conversation debating the best—and worst—commercials. I won’t try to get you to agree with my list of winners, which happens to include the Mophie “All-Powerless” spot, and the Dodge “Wisdom”, featuring 11 horsepower-loving centenarians. But I would like to spend a minute reflecting on the spot that ended up on a lot of “losers” lists, the Nationwide “Make Safe Happen” commercial.

In a sea of unflattering reviews of the spot targeting the number one cause of children’s deaths, preventable accidents, perhaps Rolling Stone reviewer Jason Gallagher was most harsh: “I get that you're trying to bring attention to the issue of household safety, but couldn't you have done that with a sad puppy or horse or something? It's like you guys sat down and said, ‘Hey, you know how everyone loved Boyhood? Let's do that but kill the kid at the end. Yeah!’"

We looked at it differently. From our point of view, Nationwide spent more than $14 million not to push their products, but to raise awareness about child safety. When the tone of the commercial struck a nerve with the audience that expected humor and positive emotions, Nationwide ended up with fewer people on their side than they hoped for. The response was so overwhelming that the insurer felt compelled to issue a statement on its website to respond to the Super Bowl negative reaction.

“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.”

So, perhaps we can overlook the delivery method, and focus a little more on the real need for all of us to make the home a safer place for children. That, after all, is a much easier cause to get behind than the one on top of my worst Super Bowl commercial list—Jublia’s “Tackle it”. I’m sure you agree with me that toenail fungus just doesn’t go well with chicken wings and guacamole.

At QCA this week, we’re proud to congratulate our thirty-second active accredited supplier, Sunscope. Based in Commerce, CA., Sunscope has been a top 40 Supplier since 1997, offering a wide range of customizable products that include bags, drinkware, writing instruments, flashlights, tools, frames, timers and pedometers.

“Sunscope recognizes the importance of managing the supply chain and ensuring product quality, safety and social compliance,” said Dilip K. Bhavnani, COO of Sunscope. “With state and federal regulations being updated, as well as higher standards being demanded by our client base, we knew it was a good business decision to dedicate the resources necessary to complete the challenging QCA Accreditation Program.”