Motrin’s new ad raises big STINK, for a good reason too!

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Motrin has a new ad running on their website…have you seen it??? Take a moment to before you read on!

In case you don’t feel like clicking away just yet…

Here’s the ad word for word:

I mean in theory it’s a great idea.

And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free.

Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience.

They say that babies carried close to the bod tend to cry less than others.

But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t?

I sure do!

These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back?!

I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of 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.

This ad has moms furious- not just babywearing mama’s but mother’s in general too. The ad has a very sarcastic tone, wouldn’t you agree? It’s condenscending and demeaning toward mother’s. Since when did babywearing become a fashion statement or trendy? Since when did babywearing become such a problem that moms were getting neck, back and shoulder pain… I mean c’mon Motrin (Johnson and Johnson)! What the heck were you thinking??? I’m not even sure the person (s) who came up with this ad was thinking- AT ALL. Why did they have to single out a group in this message? The message could’ve have been done more tastefully and with tact. Instead, they chose to MOCK us! How ridiculous. The fact that Motrin mentions the word “supposedly” like baby wearing isn’t a REAL bonding experience is completely unnerving to mother’s. They obviously don’t know our real pain. The message is outright condescending and the target market they chose was in poor judgement. This message was not only offensive but it’s misleading. It makes it sound like babywearing is a painful experience. When in fact, it’s quite the opposite. I LOVE wearing my baby and cannot wait to wear my baby to be! It has been my saving grace on numerous occassions- in the grocery store, around the house and at numerous public events! Wearing my baby close is something I chose because I enjoy it. I’ve never had back, neck or shoulder pain from it and if I did- I wouldn’t take Motrin- I’d stop wearing it! The more I think about this ad- the more worked up I get. It’s completely disrespectful on soooo many levels. Baby wearing mama’s is a large demographic. Motrin fails to see this.

While on twitter last night, this large demographic of woman were raising a big STINK- and for a DAMN GOOD REASON. Motrin stinks for allowing such a video to air on the web!! Motrin has clearly lost the trust of many moms since viewing or reading this ugly campaign commercial. They don’t realize how big social media is but will very soon! Us moms are uniting and helping to spread the word about this awful and disgusting commercial! Shame, shame, on you MOTRIN.

If this ad angers/bothers you in any way, make sure you let Motrin know how upset you are about this commercial by sending them an email or visit The Crunchy Domestic Goddess site and find out other alternatives to getting the message out there. They’re are a slew of other mom’s who’ve blogged about this also- you can find and read their posts here and here!

Katja Presnal at Ladybug Landings  put together a great video after last night’s hot and heavy discussion of the Motrin ignorance titled Motrin Makes Moms Mad! It’s a powerful message to Motrin- you’ll get to see my tweets as well as many other moms who were distraught by this ad and  pic of myself carrying Tristan in the Ergo Baby Carrier!  If you get a chance click on their link and you’ll find a pic of my husband wearing Tristan on their testimonials page but make sure to scroll down a bit.

On top of it all it’s International Babywearing Week (Nov. 12-18)!!! I find this to be so ironic!!! So, ladies put on your babies and wear them happily. Maybe even send Motrin a photo of how happy you really are wearing your baby!!!

What about you? Did you take offense to this ad, share your thoughts?

UPDATE AS OF 11/17/08

Boy, it didn’t take long for Motrin to find out they were in trouble…they’ve already taken the commercial off their site. Woot! Apparantly, you can find advertisements of this commercial in magazines that went out for publishing…one example is  the Real Simple mag…I have no idea what other magazines have the advertisement as well- I found out about Real Simple at the Mothering Forum at mothering.com! In any case, I decided to embed the video so you can watch it here!!! GAH…..can’t get the video to embed…so click on the You Tube link to watch! Darn….!!!

 watch?v=BmykFKjNpdY