If you have been paying attention to the Social Media buzz of the week, I'm sure you have all heard about the MotrinMoms controversy. If not, here is a short recap:
Johnson & Johnson product, Motrin, offended mothers and fathers with an online and print ad which claimed that moms who carry their babies around with baby body carriers might possible suffer from back pain.
Do see a problem with this ad? Well, mothers on Twitter went absolutely crazy over this. They claim the ad implied that moms carry their babies as fashion accessories.
Take a look at some of the ANGRY Tweets!
Two days after the this ad rocked the social media world, Motrin removed the ad from their website.
Here is the official statement from Kathy Widmer, McNeil's VP of Marketing. This email was sent to those who wrote a letter of complaint.
I am the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare. I have responsibility for the Motrin Brand, and am responding to concerns about recent advertising on our website. I am, myself, a mom of 3 daughters.
We certainly did not mean to offend moms through our advertising. Instead, we had intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. We believe deeply that moms know best and we sincerely apologize for disappointing you.
Please know that we take your feedback seriously and will take swift action with regard to this ad. We are in process of removing it from our website. It will take longer, unfortunately, for it to be removed from magazine print as it is currently on newstands and in distribution.
So what is your take on all of this? Do you think a focus group could have prevented this whole mess? What do you think of the response?
Click on these links if you are interested in learning more about this Social Media disaster
Advertising Age
USA Today
1 comment:
Wow! Talk about some angry moms! I have to say that I do like how the vice president of marketing responded, and it was definitely a needed gesture! It's amazing how sometimes advertisements can be taken the wrong way. Yikes!
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