Trash.8T

A new campaign that seems like it was designed to capture real sentiments from real moms about the pains resulting from baby-wearing, the practice of wearing or carrying a baby or child in a sling or other form of carrier, has inadvertently alienated hundreds of twitter parenets and is causing a net-wide backlash.

www.motrin.com for the ad… at least for the moment.

Here’s the block quote of what is upsetting everyone (emphasis added):

“Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion.

“I mean, in theory it’s a great idea.

“There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch.

“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.”

Here is what one baby-wearing mom had to say in reaction:

This is a perfect example of how authenticity in advertising can go wrong. I know that the brand team had the best intentions when they approved this ad.  I’m certain that the language they used came directly out of weeks of research in mom focus groups. I’m also sure that the brand team really thought that they were delivering a relevant and authentic sentiment - real pain of moms everywhere. But somewhere in the process, their sense of perspective must have gotten clouded.   It can be difficult to remember that a mother who might complain about her pain in a focus group, can’t speak for the entire segment, and it may not be appropriate for a brand to repeat back to her what she is thinking.

The women they are trying to talk to here are new mothers with infants - we know that they’re not wearing their babies because it’s a fad.  Most mothers who wear their babies close to them are doing it because they adhere to a philosophy of child rearing that is supposed to be good for both mother and baby, a long-term plan for raising a well-adjusted and happy child.  We are talking about a deeply personal bond between mother and child; no one would ever make an ad that discussed breast feeding flippantly.  The brand should know this.

The lesson to be learned here is that there is a sanctity that comes along with motherhood that brands, and advertisers should be very carful not to violate. Tread respectfully when trying to show that you can empathize with the experience of motherhood. To the public you are a brand, not another mom.

It could be difficult for the brand to recover from this backlash, but not at all impossible.  Take all this publicity, publicly admit a mistake, and reach out to the loudest voices in the backlash for assistance in getting it right.

Instead of using copy written from summarized perspectives of groups, use faces and voices of real moms.  If your team believes that people are in pain from wearing their babies, use advocates for baby-wearing to work with you to provide a PSA that illustrates the proper way to do it - or for warning signs that you’re doing it incorrectly.  I’m sure you can find plenty of other good reasons for a new mom to take Motrin.  If the brand gets very real, admits their mistakes, listens, keeps asking questions, lets real moms do the talking, and does a really good job at it, they may just be able to turn this backlash into strong brand advocacy - then everyone would be happy.

Tags: advertising, baby-wearing, commercial, Motrin

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 11:07 am and is filed under Digital Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.