Motrin Marketing: EPIC FAIL
Check out this inane marketing campaign currently running which was on Motrin’s home page (Motrin.com) for at least 24 hours. I’ve included a YouTube link (someone else uploaded it) since undoubtedly at *some* point rational thought will prevail and they will pull the ad… after the damage is already done (there were many declaring a personal boycott of Motrin and/or encouraging others to boycott as well.)
“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.
PROBLEM: It belittles moms (and dads) who wear their babies (in slings, pouches, backpacks and other baby carriers), and the gal narrating sounds like a total self-absorbed ditz. Of all the ways to sell your pain med, makes you wonder WHO thought that was a good angle to take. Geez. What’s their alternate ad pitch… a ditzy gal complaining about what a drag breastfeeding is, perhaps? /FAIL
More on the furor that’s spread(ing) on Twitter about the ad is available in this article.
And more here, in the form of a video that highlights some of the many comments shared about the ad on Twitter.com. You can follow the discussion in real-time, as well.
I guess the quickest way to explain why the ad’s offensive is they’re belittling something NATURAL to sell a DRUG PRODUCT.
POSTSCRIPT: As of 10:40 PM CST, Motrin.com is OFFLINE/unresponsive — coincidence? Doubtful. And an apology email has already been dispatched to some of the first folks to write in to Motrin.com and complain about the tone and content of the ad. Here’s more on the continuing saga. Apparently the ad is also part of a current print ad campaign, but Twitter proved to be the focus group that Motrin’s brand seems to have lacked when it conceived of and executed the ad. It didn’t have a sympathetic tone, a genuine “we feel your pain” (their slogan… meh) and instead veered headlong off the precipice of “we have absolutely no idea who you are.”
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