HW-11

Mothers who saw the "Motrin Mom" advertisement were offended because they felt that they were being ridiculed by the company. From my point of view, the commercial light-heartedly teased mothers who "wear" their babies in slings. However, some angry moms were unable to laugh with Motrin because they felt that they were being disrespected. One line from the ad said that wearing babies was "fashionable." The idea of comparing a child to an accessory was more than some mothers could tolerate. The commercial also pointed out that wearing a baby can put strain on a woman's back and shoulders. They were trying to illustrate that motherhood is not easy and that Motrin is there to relieve the pain. Unfortuneatly, not all moms were able to grasp the humor appeal. I think that they over-reacted and that this commercial was in no way inappropriate.

Motrin handled the incident by posting a public apology to the offended mothers on the Internet. One apology was sent directly to the bloggers who protested the campaign, and another was posted on Motrin's website. Both apologies were written by the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Kathy Widmer. Widmer has three daughters herself so she probably felt that she knew how to speak to moms. I guess she was wrong in this case. In addition, Motrin promised to remove the commercials from the media. You can view the commercial and the apologies here.

If I were in Widmer's shoes I would have put a greater effort into calming the bloggers down. I would have tried to relate to the angry moms on a more personal level. As a mother, she could have shared some of her experiences and tried to build a connection. Writing the apology as a mother rather than the vice president of marketing would have been more effective. She could have gained understanding, acceptance, and ultimately forgiveness from the bloggers. It is necessary to put consumers first in every situation because what is important to them is vital to the business. Try to see things from their point of view. A great way to do so would have been to conduct a focus group first. They could have played the commercial for a small group of moms and got some feedback before airing it nationwide. I am guessing that as a mother, Widmer thought she knew what to say. She failed to realize that all parents do not think alike. Never make generalizations!!!