Motrin Moms is still trending towards the top of Twitter after Motrin.com has removed the video and replaced it with an apology. For those of you who aren’t aware of the issue, yet, here’s a run-down.
On Friday, Motrin posted this ad on the front page of their site. The commercial claims that “wearing your baby seems to be a fashion…supposidly, it’s a real bonding experience.” Then, the condescending voice goes on to say, “I’ll put up with the pain, because it’s a good 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.”
Moms everywhere were outraged. #MotrinMoms became the hottest stream on Twitter, and prompted dozens of responses from angry mothers on YouTube. Dozens of bloggers are asking why Motrin did not test this message with its intended market audience. This disaster was completely avoidable. The other lesson – never launch a campaign on a Friday unless you are going to have staff on hand to handle potential issues. Lesson number three? Don’t piss off the moms. Mommy bloggers, geek moms, and techie moms are a huge force on the web. They blog about products, they participate in community forums, they twitter. Even MomLogic, the most influential mommy blog according to PR Week, had an article about Motrin Moms on its front page.
Unfortunately, as the apology states, this was just the beginning of an entire campaign – including print media. Which means those mothers who aren’t savvy enough to have caught it on the web, will definitely see it in their next issue of their mommy magazine.
Below is the most popular YouTube response to the Motrin baby-wearing ad:
11th Hour Brilliance 