--- description: Nationwide defends Superbowl commercial about preventable childhood deaths title: Nationwide Is Not Sorry About Depressing Ad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55a3744fcf91254b/69877d255f570f23adb150bc/most-depressing-super-bowl-ad-nationwide.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Super Bowl](/tag/super-bowl/) ## Super Bowl Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nationwide Says It Started Dialogue With Most Depressing Super Bowl Ad Ever by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 2, 2015 6:29 AM CUT  by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 2, 2015 6:29 AM CUT Nationwide is not sorry about the tear-stained nachos and awkward silences that rippled across America following the broadcast of their controversial ad about preventable childhood deaths during the Super Bowl. “Nationwide ran an ad during the Super Bowl that started a fierce conversation,” [read](http://www.nationwide.com/about-us/020115-make-safe-happen.jsp "undefined") a statement released by the insurer after the commercial ran. “The sole purpose of this message was to start a conversation, not sell insurance.” However, the grim subject matter did not prevent netizens from quickly commandeering the advertisement to make memes that captured the emotions of what will go down as one of the best Super Bowl games in history. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3691772/nationwide-superbowl-tv-ad-childhood-deaths/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3691772/nationwide-superbowl-tv-ad-childhood-deaths/"},"headline":"Nationwide Says It Started Dialogue With Most Depressing Super Bowl Ad Ever","datePublished":"2015-02-02T06:29:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:03:28.925Z","description":"Insurance company stands by decision to address preventable childhood deaths during the middle of the game","url":"https://time.com/3691772/nationwide-superbowl-tv-ad-childhood-deaths/","keywords":["Super Bowl","Super Bowl topic","Superbowl","Seahawks","patriots"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55a3744fcf91254b/69877d255f570f23adb150bc/most-depressing-super-bowl-ad-nationwide.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt55a3744fcf91254b/69877d255f570f23adb150bc/most-depressing-super-bowl-ad-nationwide.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"most-depressing-super-bowl-ad-nationwide","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/super-bowl/","name":"Super Bowl"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3691772/nationwide-superbowl-tv-ad-childhood-deaths/","name":"Nationwide Says It Started Dialogue With Most Depressing Super Bowl Ad Ever"}}]}] ```