Motringate: The ad wasn't the issue. Motrin just didn't listen.
by zchamuOK so, if you have a life outside the internet, and if you don't find yourself obsessively checking Twitter all the time, and you're generally not a big fat geek, you may not have heard of Motringate. The Reader's Digest version goes, Motrin posted an ad on their website.
The ad, a cutesy-mootsy "Momversation" about how "babywearing makes my back hurt!" didn't really go over well. Babywearing moms, in particular, were not happy. An anti-Motrin backlash ensued, that got all the worse because Motrin appeared to not be listening over the weekend. If you have the time or energy, you can go see the whole thing unfold over on Twitter if you care to go back 70 or 80 pages. It was truly a hissy fit of epic proportions.
And of course, inevitably the anti-Mom backlash has started, mostly from men it has to be said, and mostly men who aren't parents, who are inevitably telling Moms to get a life, it's just a stupid ad. And inevitably, these men are missing the point.
The problem with the Motrin ad wasn't really necessarily the ad itself. I mean, yes, in its cutesyness and its attempt to sound hip, the ad missed the mark. It managed to sound both patronizing and critical of a childrearing philosophy that women feel passionate about (namely, babywearing). Was that really the big deal? Not especially, no.
The real issue is that Moms have been telling brands like Johnson & Johnson (who owns Motrin) how to approach them for years now, and Motrin didn't bother to pay attention. And Moms are tired of it.
The number one rule on how to approach Moms (or anyone, really) is simple : Listen first.
If Motrin had been listening, they'd know that women are passionate about babywearing. They'd know that there are already debates about it, support groups, that babywearing itself is a philosophy. They'd know that saying things like "supposedly" babywearing is a bonding experience and that babywearing "totally makes me look like an official mom" are not funny. They'd know that any woman who babywears would not find that commercial entertaining.
They'd also know that women hate being patronized, hate it when childrearing decisions are mocked or poked, prodded or marginalized. It's already tough enough out there for Moms. It's a hard job and people don't take it seriously, instead calling Moms (and Mom-bloggers) narcissistic and hysterical and over-reactive and a thousand other unflattering names when they speak up about kid issues. Treating Moms as if their child-rearing decisions are a joke is automatically a bad idea for a company who wants to get Moms on its side, and even worse when those same Moms have been telling these companies how to approach them for years and companies so obviously can't be bothered to pay attention.
They'd also know that when Moms are pissed, they band together. And that their voices are loud.
They didn't listen, and they continued not to listen when their ad started to attract attention, when Twitter got loud and boisterous. Which in itself is simply a failure of Motrin to monitor their own social media footprint, which is inexcusable in November 2008, and someone needs to get a Social Media Monitoring 101 class first thing this morning.
Women spend 85% of the household income, especially when it comes to things like typical household painkillers such as Motrin. Mom-bloggers are an incredibly influential group that marketers have been wetting themselves over for years. In the end, there's really no justification to air an ad like this, one that obviously wasn't vetted and actually alienates the target audience. This was a massive social media fail on Motrin's part, not because the ad was dumb, but because they didn't bother to pay attention to the one thing we've been telling them to do for years already: Just. Listen. And for that, they paid the price.
Check out my blogs at ThreeSeven and ecochick.ca.
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Comments
What Motrin should've done.
Me? I actually did have back pain from wearing my daughter (and I tried two different kinds of carriers). So if they'd done this ad with slightly less airhead factor (I mean, sheesh, the person doing the voiceover sounds seventeen!) and with a little more class, I think it would've been alright. I'd have commiserated.
To whit, here I am, Mommyblogger and random personage, and I'm going to take the basic text of their ad, and make it slightly less offensive. And you know? I'm going to do it in three minutes or less. Time me? Here we go:
Original:
I mean, in theory it’s a great idea.
There’s the front baby
carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch.
Wearing your baby seems to be in
fashion.
And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your
side, your front, go hands free.
Supposedly, it’s a real
bonding experience.
They say that babies carried close to the bod tend to cry
less than others.
But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more
than those who don’t?
I sure do!
These things put a ton
of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your
back?!
I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain;
it’s for my kid.
Plus, it totally makes me look like an official
mom.
And so if I look tired and crazy, people will understand why.
Mine (done in a more mature, slightly world-weary voice):
I mean, it’s a great idea.
You can pick the front baby
carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch.
Wearing your baby can be a wonderful thing.
No matter where you wear - on your
side, your front, whatever - go hands free!
It’s a real
bonding experience.
They say that babies carried close to the bod tend to cry
less than others.
And that's a good thing. A really good thing.
No matter how you carry your baby, you're going to feel the strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders and your brain. Did I mention your brain?!
I mean, I’ll work with pain because it’s a good kind of pain;
it’s for my baby.
Between that and the stained shirt, it all makes me look like an official
mom.
And so if I look tired and crazy, people will understand why.
Three minutes or less. Sigh.
There's one other word I'd change...
The whole "sling, schwing, wrap, pouch" stuff. Throwing "schwing" in there is also kind of mocking. Unless there's an actual product out there called a "schwing" that I don't know about.
But your point is exceptionally well taken. It wouldn't have taken a whole lot of effort on their part to not make the ad condescending to their target audience.
Visit my blogs at ThreeSeven (all that's irrelevant and amusing) and
ecochick (all that's green, cool and Canadian).
It makes you wonder how many
It makes you wonder how many *actual* mothers they have working on their ads, you know? If one mommy can make it less irritating in less than three minutes, you'd think a room full of ad execs could've made *at least* that decent a showing.
Maybe they thought they were being cute!
I haven't been able to watch the ad, but I have definately heard some of the backlash and I'm not even on Twitter. What an insult to all of us as moms to write this kind of ad. Guess who's sales just took a hit! I'm tired of the way women are portrayed in the media. No wonder blogging is growing so popular, most likely at the expense of TV. Manufacturers need to get a grip. Women who raise kids, and even those who rarely leave the house, now have a reach that extends far beyond the home. Wake up big business, personally I'd rather work with someone who cares and listens!
BookLady Alison
The ad for children's Motrin was even more
offensive
I don't know if the second ad is on Youtube, but it declared that 1) Moms don't really say what they're thinking 2) If people knew what we're thinking, we'd all be committed to mental institutions and 3) the ad opens by stating that the narrator wants to kill her children.
How did they think this would be something I could relate to? How did they think this would get me to buy their product?
I would like to see if they can partner with BlogHer's ad network to put out some form of apology and attempt to rehabilitate their brand. I think a lot of us would be forgiving if they act quickly and renew their relationship with moms.
They may also want to double
They may also want to double check that they're not seeimingly using and devaluing someone else's trademark for their offensive video. I am seriously displeased with them in more ways than one.
Dana Loesch
Mamalogues.com
Host and executive producer, "The Dana Show"
on Fox News affiliate KFTK 97.1 FM Talk
Oh that burned me up...
I'm one of those babywearing mamas that got irked when I heard about that ad (via a post on The BabyWearer no less) . I also wonder if any moms had input on the ad; tit would have helped if a mother that had actually worn their baby in something other than a Bjorn or a Snuggli could say, "Hey, it's not like that." They saw, they observed, they assumed. And it bit them in the butt. GOOD, I say.
--
Michelle ~ http://www.mommymisadventures.com/