When Big Companies Miss the Mark with Moms – and Meet Twitter

Don’t you hate it when people carelessly or inadequately complete a task? For example, when your kids miss most of the crumbs on your table and claim to have wiped it clean or when the woman cutting your kid’s hair makes it look like a helmet head instead of that stylish Jonas brother’s ‘do? Or, perhaps, when an otherwise reputable company distributes an ad which misrepresents women and unintentionally offends them…

Johnson and Johnson recently released (and then quickly removed) an advertisement for its popular pain reliever, Motrin. Within a few days before being pulled, writers around the blogosphere and, more importantly, on Twitter, expressed outrage and disgust at the ad’s misrepresentation of moms. The ad claimed to relate to moms who felt burdened by baby carriers, which the ad claimed moms wore despite experiencing pain (albeit a “good kind” of pain because it’s “for my kid”). And, the part that really got me, it mistakenly claimed that we wore the baby carriers simply because they “were in fashion” and made us look like “official moms” – an absurd and ridiculous assertion!

My baby carrier of choice, the Baby Bjorn, helped me care for my other child while holding my baby, it helped me soothe my babies when nothing else would, helped me eat dinner with two hands while still keeping my babies close, and helped me make dinner (not recommended) while holding my baby because she would scream if I tried to put her down in a baby seat but would sleep if I kept her in the BB.  It let me face my babies forward as I walked through city streets or suburban malls, giving the little darlings their first sense of exposure and pseudo independence while still gripping onto my fingers with their tiny little baby fists.

When my babies grew out of the BB (I transported my youngest in it until he was almost two!), it was one of the few baby items I kept (in part, because it was too worn to give to another mom but primarily because it held a special place in my heart).

The “Motrin Mom” drama subsided today when the makers of Motrin issued an apology on the company’s website:

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The fanfare and resolution lasted less than three days (not including the time remaining for ads in print).  How did it come and go so quickly?  One word: Twitter.  That’s the part that amazes and impresses me.  Outraged parents posted comments, thoughts, and links to videos (as well as video responses) which served as loud, blaring warning sirens to McNeil Consumer Healthcare (the makers of Motrin): the ad was a failure.  Unless the company took appropriate action, the ad would offend far more people, likely damage the brand, and lead to a reduction in sales.

It’s all about a standard of excellence.  Is it true that informed, tech savvy moms demand more from companies and their marketing departments?  Or simply that, with today’s technology, companies need to focus more on client satisfaction and find innovative ways to serve them better? If so, kudos to McNeil/Johnson & Johnson for paying attention to Twitter, rapidly responding by pulling the ad, and issuing an apology.

Sure, ticking off Motrin buyers is not as serious or important as aid to Darfur, but it still was a mistake which was noticed and commented on by social media – which proved to be a new and very effective means of assisting companies – something which any savvy businessperson would be wise to consider and explore.

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If you really want to see it…

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