Ad execs, beware! Producing commercials that offend most parents, may be hazardous to your health.
In one of the silliest marketing moves that I have ever witnessed, the Mom-alogue commercial, Motrin tries to convince moms that they need their product to counter pain caused by baby carriers.
Any parent who has ever used a baby carrier, which includes all of my friends and acquaintances, knows that, on the contrary, baby carriers distribute weight evenly and are the safest, most comfortable means of carrying an infant for extended periods.
This campaign is ill-informed, and even more disturbingly, it’s offensive. In suggesting that baby carriers are just a badge of mommyhood, but otherwise a mistake, they offend all the millions of moms and dads who found them to be a practical solution, as well as an opportunity for parent/child bonding.
Personally, I prefer other pain-relief products, and now, I have even less reason to consider purchasing Motrin.
Of greater interest to me, is how this advertising campaign has seriously underestimated the networking power of connected parents. Yesterday, Twitter was hopping with moms and dads who were offended, angry, and highly motivated.
Very quickly, they mounted a counterattack with tweets, Emails, letters, a Motrin Makes Moms Mad Video, and many blog posts. At this point, it’s too early to say what kind of impact this will have on Motrin sales.
Please Comment…
Are you offended by the Mom-ologue commercial? Would this influence your purchasing decisions? What do you think about the Twitter Counterattack? Is this a tempest in a teapot, or could the potential for this kind of response influence future advertising campaigns?
Oh, and by the way, dads use baby carriers too!
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threeundertwo 11.16.08 at 3:21 pm
I was extremely offended by the ad. Equally disturbing was the ad for children’s Motrin which stated that I secretly want to murder my children, and if people knew what I’m really thinking, they’d have me committed.
Shame on Johnson and Johnson.
MommyWizdom 11.16.08 at 3:59 pm
Dads do wear babies too! Thanks for a great post. It’s very insightful!
Shaping Youth 11.16.08 at 11:03 pm
I’ve grown used to the snarky/patronizing tone of advertisers who don’t ‘get it’ and insist on ‘tearing down’ rather than uniting consumers.
I’ve been in touch with fellow ECP/Green Options media writer Jessica Gottlieb, who evidently ’started it all’ and have sent a few core questions her way as to how she feels the corporation could ‘make amends.’
Moreover, I’d like to know how we as parents can use these media moments to ‘give power to the people’ and educate the industry with a solid wrist slap on a variety of issues!
As one who endured the Target blogosphere kerfluffle, I can honestly say, it was handled soooooo poorly that I almost felt sorry for them. (almost being the operative word there)
It was a marketing tragedy for us both, as it was a time sink for me, (deflecting gonzo trolls on our nonprofit blog who never read the original article on objectification) and a PR crisis for them (dissing the blogosphere is a definite no-no on the branding front, and clearly Twitter is even more fast-n-furious in terms of nanosecond microblogging media impact.)
Yowza. What a motrin mop-up mess. Gives me a headache just thinkin’ about it.
Skye 11.17.08 at 12:37 am
I think it’s overstating the case to say that “Any parent who has ever used a baby carrier [...] knows that, on the contrary, baby carriers distribute weight evenly and are the safest, most comfortable means of carrying an infant for extended periods.”
More accurate to say “anyone who has ever used a good baby carrier properly knows that…”
Bob Collier 11.17.08 at 3:29 am
I carried both of my children in a sling when they were babies (I was the full-time at home parent). Face to face. Wonderful experience. Lots of eye contact, body contact, heartbeat contact, very comfortable, could walk for miles, great view for the baby too.
Even after my children were too big for the sling, I carried them in my arms rather than in a stroller. Why would I want my child down at my feet so we can’t even have a decent conversation and they’re looking up at giants all the time and sucking in the exhaust fumes from passing traffic? And getting a stroller on and off of a bus or in and out of a car - insanity.
Don’t think I was offended by the ad so much as thinking it was completely stupid.
Melissa, Multitasking Mama 11.17.08 at 6:46 am
It it offensive for the purveyors of the products that we use as moms (and could do a heck of a better job coming up with marketing campaigns than they do BTW) wouldn’t even get their facts straight before offending the very target audience they are trying to attract. They need a new marketing/advertising consultant and quick!
Sandra Foyt 11.17.08 at 9:11 am
Twitter Parent Power is almost frightening. Already, this situation has hit mainstream media and the ad campaign is being dismantled. Many will be analyzing this case study and deriving lessons for the future.
To answer my previous questions, I think it’s safe to say that marketing experts will be observing closely the networking power of consumers in the future.
See the following:
Moms and Motrin (NYT) http://spedr.com/95za
Motrin’s Email Response http://spedr.com/4zio
Collection of Motrin Moms Blogs http://spedr.com/i6tu
Anne 11.17.08 at 2:03 pm
Very offensive ad. Surprised it made it as far as it did.
Barbara 11.17.08 at 3:35 pm
You are so right about the power of Twitter and WOMM.
Frank 11.30.08 at 10:40 am
I watched the entire ad, and I did not find it offensive. It was praising mom’s for working hard carrying their kids, like superwoman. I thought it was light and fun, not disrespectful like some have said.