In case you’ve had your head buried in the sand, here’s the scenario:
Motrin.com began running an ad campaign on their site on Saturday. Here’s the ad from Youtube (Monday morning Motrin removed the ad from their site):
Mommy bloggers, Twitter moms etc… cried out against the ad publically using the social networking tools at their disposal which then lead to the removal of the controversial ad from the Motrin site and an apology from Motrin.
Now I was one of those #motrinmoms on Twitter this weekend discussing the Motrin ad. At first I didn’t see why the moms were so up in arms – My opinion of it all was more in line with Kelly’s opinion at Don Mills Diva. But after discussions on twitter on Sunday night, I have come to see the point. Motrin could have done a better job with this campaign. They could have directed it towards the aches and pains moms (and dads) experience carrying their babies, toddlers, preschoolers and other paraphernalia. It could have been about how painful carrying the infant car seat bucket is, how hard it is to lift strollers in and out of cars, the bending over we do to change diapers, pick up toys and chase small children, but instead they made the mistake of making a social comment on an already controversial topic – baby wearing. Baby wearing is a topic that moms are just as passionate about as breastfeeding, nursing in public, co-sleeping and home made baby food. The point is that the ad had a condescending tone, may prevent new parents from trying baby wearing and seemed to be a criticism of baby wearing. No one likes to have their parenting choices criticized and that’s just what Motrin did with their ad. No wonder the moms were offended. I say kudos to the moms for using social networking applications like blogs, twitter, facebook, friendfeed etc to make their voices heard.
Incidentally, it’s interesting to point out that Motrin is a Johnson & Johnson company. You may remember that J&J sparked a lot of social networking discussions with the Baby Camp fiasco this past Spring. It seems they still have a lot to learn about marketing their products to moms. Or do they? They have managed to do a great job of getting us to talk about their products and drive traffic to their websites haven’t they?
BTW – Here’s a great spoof on the Motrin ad:
Enjoy!
PS – If you want to follow me on twitter I’m momontherun
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Subscribe: Newsletter | RSS Feed Posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 10:24 pm in Entertainment | RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.
You see, this kinda proves my point that the reaction far exceeded the actual outrage.
Initially, you weren’t offended and you didn’t see what all the fuss was about. But then when you got on Twitter you had your mind changed and your outrage stoked and you ultimately became part of the movement.
I understand that that is human nature, but I think a lot of people got swept up in the excitement of realizing that social media CAN be a powerful force and the feeling of being a part of something that is bigger than themselves and it went too far. The blogging community and individuals temselves need to guard against the allure of jumping on the bandwagon lest we squander our currency when it comes to big issues.
Don Mills Divas last blog post..Let him eat cake
Once agian it shows someone not thinking a point clear through in the effort to sell a product. At least they didn’t use some hottie with a baby pouch holding her neck, back, and all other things mentioned in the add.
I am not suprized at all. I have seen for years companies will do what ever is necessary to sell a product … even bad publicity will gain attention. The song “celebrity” by Brad Paisley says it all.
I did n’t like the ad, but I gave it no regard either. I always buy generic so I never openly support those companies that believe they know what I need.
chelles last blog post..WW#42- Prince Edward Island
I thought that the outrage got a little excessive, BUT I don’t think that that’s a bad thing, or even a controllable thing. A lot of moms got mad; hell, my jaw dropped when I saw it. It was an insulting ad. Maybe some of the responses were more passionate than one might expect, but then again, my reactions to offenses to breastfeeding rights get MAD passionate, and I’d be pissed if anyone told me to chill out about it. And in any case, it made for an interesting weekend on Twitter
Her Bad Mothers last blog post..Because The Saying ‘Where The Sun Don’t Shine’ Doesn’t Apply When You’re 3
J&J is also the owner of Babycenter.com. I don’t take issue with the ad, neither does my wife. However, everyone has a right to their opinion. What bothered me was how these people decided to react. Rather than engage directly with Motrin through twitter to explain why they didn’t like the ad, they called for people to NEVER buy the product.
When the community acts this way it makes companies less likely to invest in social media channels. Sure, it’s hyperbole, but on the far end of the spectrum could you imagine this situation prompting J&J to kill Babycenter.com? Who would win in that situation? Certainly not the moms.
We all have a role to play in the social media eco-system. I happen to believe we need to play our roles responsibly. This situation wasn’t handled responsibly.
Adam Kmiecs last blog post..Motrin And Moms
Being gone all weekend and such I never had the privilege to actually see the ad in action but picked you up on Twitter about it and Googled it.
BUT, omg rofl that knock off is HILARIOUS!
valeries last blog post..Excuse Me!
I wrote a post about this just the other day. I wasn’t the only one, I’m sure! But companies these days unfortunately need to pay attention to social media and the blogosphere, even if the ad was meant to be fun and edgy (which it may have been).
I noticed moms weren’t just complaining about the ad though, they were also wondering why it was taking the powers-that-be, to respond. I don’t think 20 hours is THAT long of a wait, though.
Just my $.02
bwoodsdeigns last blog post..Was Motrin being a pain? Moms, help me out!
[...] con los front baby carriers. El vídeo es de una factura buena, pero la forma en que aborda el tema ha molestado a algunas madres: deja caer que éstas llevan a los peques por estética y que los dolores que les producen son por [...]
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November 24, 2008 at 7:36 am