Who You Calling "Motrin Mom"?!

If you haven't heard about the shitstorm of controversy that erupted because of a recent Motrin advertisement that (some thought) poked fun at the issue of "babywearing", you will.

Regardless of whether or not you think the outrage was warranted, you have to marvel at the speed at which the controversy spread through blogs, and especially the efficiency of Twitter to get the ball rolling in the first place.

Now the motrin.com website is down, e-mails are being sent to apologize on behalf of Motrin and the first page of Google results for "Motrin Moms" is full of blogs coming down hard on Motrin. I told you, it's a big mess! (David summed up more here).

Here is my take. While a lot of Social Media "experts" are lining up to offer unsolicited advice on how to handle the damage control ("buy the right keywords!", "blog back!"), I think one of the important lessons here is that this shouldn't have reached this point to begin with.

You don't have to spend a lot of times on message boards or mom blogs to know that the issue of "attachment parenting" (and many other issues about being a mom) is very controversial. This is a topic that brands need to approach at their own peril, and should make sure that they live in the world of moms online to craft the right communications strategy. In fact, I'm pretty sure that no focus group in the world would have been able to convey the intensity of emotion around this kind of issue. And while moms in the past would have rolled their eyes at this on television, the simple truth is that those days are long gone.

There is no "social media" or PR strategy in the world that will compensate for communication that hasn't been well thought out. Really knowing your audience is more critical than ever.

Alex Bogusky was recently asked to make a prediction on the future of advertising and media, and he said "the only thing I know for sure is that it's going to get a lot rougher out there for brands". That stuck with me because it's simple and true. I think that this Motrin mess is just the kind of thing he was talking about.

(In the spirit of not speaking unless you have something nice to say, I have to say that I do like the infographical treatment on the work. I'm just saying).

Comments

[El Gaffney]

Wow - so much easier to do "Mitchum Man" comms

[Dino]

what would a mitchum man uproar look like? that i'd like to see.

[Charles Frith]

I'm not holding back Dino.

This is the sort of advertising that I call patronising and based on fear. They deserve everything they get. I've got a long post about this in my head and it's linked directly to repetition and frequency and believe it or not War propaganda.

Bash people over the head with enough messaging and doubts creep in. I've seen it work for so many (mainly FMCG) categories that ostensibly look like they are 'caring' when what they care about are profits. Maybe this is a turning point.

Vive La Revolucion!

I'm watching this more now :)

[Dino]

look forward to seeing it charles. don't hold back!
i think the best thing that can come out of this is forcing marketers to realize that they can't get away with lazy, non committed work.
do they really care or think all that deeply about things like attachment parenting or babywearing? if so, they should be prepared to defend that point of view. otherwise, they will be considered opportunistic and shallow, just using a hot button issue to sell more stuff.
this just isn't acceptable anymore. in this case, social media very vividly drew a line in the sand, indicating what the boundaries are for commercial involvement in an issue people are passionate about.

[Jozet at Halushki]

Not only does it take on the "attachment parents" - a group that until recently has been on the fringes and suffering the slings and arrows of ridicule of those whose parenting choices are more mainstream - but it reignites the "mommy wars" that many mommy bloggers have been trying to extinguish.

The fact is that there are a lot of big issues out there that women, mothers, should be tackling - could be tackling - if they could only galvanize their efforts. However, the infighting of the mommy wars - which reflect all sorts of class, cultural, and economic differences - has been a major distraction. It should seem obvious that issues like equal work for equal pay and family leave would benefit all. But motherhood is still, for all the self-indulgent moms out there, not held in high esteem in our culture that values earning potential and industry over what is still seen as glorified babysitting. Most commercials condescend to women in their role as mother; this one was just more blatant.

But again, just when - after nine years of holding this conversation - it seems that women are finally coming to a "live and let live" philosophy regarding each other's parenting choices and not allowing themselves to be played by media for cash sales, along comes Motrin and tries to pull a fast one. The threat is the fractioning of factions and the loss of a cohesive momentum gained that will, hopefully, benefit all women when it comes to the bigger issues.

[Bethany Iverson]

Good point about REALLY knowing your audience. I think oftentimes we (as planners, marketers, etc.) are a little too confident that we just intuitively 'know' how people are. Even though copious amounts of online research can be done in a fraction of the time I think it's still crucial to talk with people face to face whenever possible. Sometimes clients (or us) are so eager to get a project completed that we don't take the time to do things right and then things like this happen (I'm guessing). And I agree, I also like the type/design...