According to some of the vocal feedback, particularly on Twitter (just search #motrinmoms), babywearing is neither fashion statement, nor does it cause any particular pain. In fact, a number of women say they do it because it is a less painful way to carry around your baby. In response to the uproar, Motrin posted an apology on its website and has pledged to excise the universe of any and all brand material associated with the campaign. Good luck with that, Tornado Girls, because the shit is already in magazines on newsstands. The controversial ad surely soon to be removed from YouTube, inside...
Motrin Mania Ignited on Twitter, Mad Moms Mobilize [AdRants]
]]>Talk about things which will give you a backache! I hated carrying the infant carseat around, it being as wide as it is. Sling for the win!
]]>What's next, selling me a car without testing if the airbags don't kill me?
]]>It's just a style, like the "grunge" thing - it's having its day right now, tomorrow will be something different in the design world.
]]>I think that the commercial was in poor taste, seemed o mock women who carry their babies. I don't have a baby to carry, but I would consider it as a convenient option, not a fashion statement. If I wanted to make a fashion statement, I'd buy one of those high end expensive other-wordly looking strollers to show off to the world.
]]>Baby wearing is an amusing fad -- I think it's hilarious that mothers aren't willing to admit that popular culture got them into the trend. My mother let me cry without picking me up and sleep on my stomach and put my head between the crib rails and I think I turned out just fine. Fad fad fad.
Moms, go on the defensive and criticize Motrin all you want, but the next time I'm buying ibuprofen I'm reaching for the orange bottle thanks to this clever ad.
]]>And oh my god, if they start saying breastfeeding is fashionable, I'm going to scream.
]]>I am finding it hard to understand why anyone would be offended
Because the people who make Motrin is telling mothers in the ad that they are silly, inconsequential people who follow fashion rather than what is best for their children.
Let me take it straight from the ad:
Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion.
They're telling us we aren't doing it because it's rational, and we're not doing it because we care, or because we think it's best for our children. Motrin is saying we're doing it because, in their words, it's in fashion. They are going out of their way to demean our decision making.
From the ad:
Supposedly, it's a real bonding experience.
It isn't supposedly a way to bond. It's a way to bond. And a way to feed the baby. And a way to get the dishes done. And a way to get from here to there without carrying the baby in a cold, plastic car seat by the handle. Again, it implies that mothers are incapable of rational thought - that we make major child rearing decisions on whims.
From the ad:
These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back?!
If worn correctly, it doesn't. If it does, find a different one, or wear the one you have differently. Or ask for help.
Their apology is slick, weak, and unconvincing. It notes that "we are parents ourselves and we take feedback from moms very seriously".
Perhaps they are parents, but that makes it even more puzzling why they would go out of their way to make fun of mothers.
]]>+1
As for the story are you telling me that a small "group" of people bitched on the intertubes about a pain pill add. .
Honestly unless you make fun of people for something they can't change (race, ethnicity, gender) I see no reason to apologize.
]]>@EhnoValemount: I don't know about the "baby wearers" (not being a parent myself), but I'm usually offended by smarmy voices and pretentious graphics claiming that they can peer into my very soul with their "amirite" attitude. No, we're not in this together, toots. You and your overpaid creative department are on your own.
]]>Then again, getting all butthurt over a pain reliever ad is a better way to spend your (apparently abundant) spare time than stopping a machete massacre anyway. Those things are depressing. Oh look! BRIGHT SHINY OBJECT!
]]>Maybe their target was the people that make fun of the people that wear babies? Seriously, which is a bigger group? It would be a waste of money to target just baby wearers with a national campaign.
]]>I bet ads like this will become more popular as more people get PVRs that don't allow commercial skip, but rather, commercial fast-forward. Even without sound, the ad gets its message across.
I'll make mine a MythTV.
]]>I used to carry my son around all the time in a Snugli carrier. I didn't feel any pain though. In fact it was quite comfortable.
]]>Just my $.02 anyway.
]]>@fall_farewell: Apparently Motrin considered babywearers a consumer block worth going after, so if that block rejects them, it must matter to the company. I know that sometimes corporations are too quick to kowtow to offense -- remember the ridiculous cancellation of Rachel Ray's Dunkin Donuts ad because she wore a paisley scarf that sort of resembled, if you squinted, an Arab scarf? But when a corporation strongly targets a specific demographic group, they should try not to do it in a condescending way; if they flub it up, they have to take the hit.
]]>@Vegconsumer: Yes, this. Combined with the increasing trend in pop culture/advertising to assume that there is no reason any woman would do anything except because of appearance/fashion concerns, the ad just grates. It's not the most wildly offensive thing I've ever seen by a long shot, but Motrin deserved the smackdown.
]]>@MrsLopsided: I cracked up when I saw the reference too. I hope "Tornado Girl" catches on.
]]>The ads maker should have looked at asian countries where this is not a fashion but rather the norm. It is the most convenient way to carry your baby second to pushing a stroller. And no, motrin is not the number one pain reliever sold in those countries.
]]>My backpack is the most convenient way to carry some of my heavy stuff, and it distributes weight pretty well, but it does not make it disappear. I can feel full well that I'm off balance.
If you're carrying your baby, and you get some back pain, and you want some painkillers for it, get over yourself, and take some.
]]>Then I watched it.
]]>They're creating a negative image where there really shouldn't be one. Most ads are stupid to begin with. Targeting the babywearers incorrectly is just plain scraping the bottom of the barrel.
]]>Oh so a Motrin ad makes you look bad, big deal. I am certain Motrin's sales wouldn't be hurt a bit if the "babywearers" never bought it again.
Motrin should just keep the ad and alienate baby wearers. Maybe I just want to see a company give the middle finger to an overly offended group of people for once. Motrin should release a more offensive ad in spite.
]]>Creepy how at one part it refers to babies as "these things". (It could be interpreted otherwise, I know.)
Mothers have been carrying babies since near the beginning of being able to walk upright. Native and indigenous people don't do it for fashion, it's a means of transport where strollers don't exist.
]]>You're right--strangely similar ads targeting 2 totally different consumers
]]>I don't see having an ad that supposed to be targeted as you coming off more as making fun of your decisions as oversensitive. They missed the mark. The ad was meant to coincide with national babywearing week in the US, and the very people that would care about that are the ones who felt the ad was condescending. Agree or disagree with that, but you have to admit that they failed miserably on reaching their intended target audience for the ad.
]]>The reason a lot of people are so ticked off is that the ad is just very misleading. I very happily used carriers with my son until I got too pregnant with the current bun in the oven ... they were a lifesaver! My husband and I have worn our son in various carriers to zoos, museums, dog parks, airports, etc. Neither of us ever experienced any sort of pain unless we REALLY overdid things.
The fact is, a lot of folks could benefit from using a carrier. Some babies -- well, a LOT of babies -- just like to be close to Mom or Dad, and it's VERY hard to get anything done. The concern for a lot of us was that this ad campaign could discourage people who might really be able to use a carrier from ever trying one.
]]>And, I might add, that depending on big your baby gets, it is not unrealistic to imagine that there might be some sore muscles after a while if you are carrying the baby for a long period.
]]>You'd be surprised at how politicized child-rearing is these days. People are VERY oversensitive to anything suggesting they might be doing it wrong.
]]>Methinks they protest too much.
]]>Is it just me or is this commecial a blatant ripoff of those new Ford F150 commercials with Dennis Leary doing voiceover? Not sure how to imbed a youtube video here but if I did it would be down here
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Yeah, desperate is the right word.
]]>They ought to advertise this product to moms of toddlers who have outgrown the carriers.
]]>I am finding it hard to understand why anyone would be offended.
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