If Nationwide Was Public Would You Short It?

If insurance firm Nationwide was a publicly traded company some argue its stock might be down 5% today amid the outrage from its Super Bowl ad, that many believe was in very bad taste. Luckily for the company and potential shareholders, the company went private in 2009 after 12 years as a public company.

The ad in question started out well with a boy discussing life moments that he'll never be able to do - like riding a bike, getting cooties, learning to fly, traveling the world with his dog, and getting married. The ad then turned to the dark side with the kid saying he'll never be able to do these things because he died from an accident. The tag line from Nationwide read - "The #1 cause of childhood deaths is preventable accidents."

However, while some view the ad as detrimental to Nationwide and its business, others see it helping the company get in the mind of the customer and ultimately helping it gain market share. As the old saying goes - 'There's no such thing as bad publicity.'

The market has possibly already voted with shares of competitor The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) up 0.8% on the session.

What do you think?

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