Blogging is Powerful: Motrin Removes Offensive Ad
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Two weeks ago, Crunchy Domestic Goddess blogged about an offensive online ad for Motrin which made fun of babywearers.
She went beyond blogging: she tweeted about it on Twitter.com, emailed the VP of marketing, and she advised her readers to blog, tweet and email as well. And she threatened to boycott, noting on her blog:
“As women, we control 80% of our household spending.”
Not only did Motrin remove the offensive ad from their website, they also posted a public apology on their home page (pictured above).
According to Wired:
The first critiques of the ad surfaced on November 15 a Saturday. By Sunday afternoon the #motrinmoms topic had trended to high popularity on Twitter and Blogger Katja Presnal had created a nine minute YouTube video comprised of angry tweets and moms with baby carriers. By Sunday evening, Motrin pulled the campaign and temporarily shuttered its website.
Here’s a video of the #motrin tweets by Katja Presnal at Ladybug Landings:
Nice work, Crunchy Domestic Goddess, and all you other bloggers and readers out there.
Isn’t it inspiring to know that we can impact change?
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30/11/2008 at 3:56 am Permalink
This is my first time seeing this ad (thanks to Netflix, and never watching network TV) but I have heard a lot about it over the past several weeks on…blogs. I’m so glad they pulled it and has gotten the negative attention it deserves.
30/11/2008 at 11:19 pm Permalink
I am a tiny woman who has big babies. I slung them on my hip, and wore them on my front and back. Correctly. After wearing them for long enough, my shoulders and back hurt. Sometimes a lot. I don’t see how the ad is offensive to women who wear their babies.
01/12/2008 at 12:29 am Permalink
I think it is offensive because it implies that women are “crazy” for following a fad of wearing babies. Wearing babies has helped many mothers and babies. I didn’t personally wear my baby a lot (I did occasionally — and I enjoyed it when I did) but I know other mothers who swear by it.
01/12/2008 at 9:46 am Permalink
I just don’t see that. The woman doing the ad says the “fad” is popular and then lists all the benefits (the reasons for its popularity?) and says that she will continue to wear her baby in spite of it making her tired and crazy. Personally, I think a loving husband is a great antidote for being tired–and having a sore back. Crazy? Not sure how Midol will help that.
01/12/2008 at 10:39 am Permalink
I think it’s demeaning.
01/12/2008 at 7:25 pm Permalink
At the risk of sounding (extreme) feminist, it was probably written by a man.