June 9, 2009

Why did it offend people?

Online Moms did not respond to the ad by racing out for Motrin. They were offended by the suggestion that they carry their babies to be “fashionable”. They were outraged at the idea that they look “crazy”. They vehemently disagreed with the phrasing that “in theory” carrying your baby around is a good idea. Mommy-bloggers spread this news like wildfire and it was all over Twitter in a few days. Moms were outraged by this...but really I think mom's should be taking care of their children instead of blogging...

How did the company respond?

Here is the press release that was issued on Monday following the incident:
"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 newsstands and in distribution.

-Kathy
Kathy WidmerVP of Marketing

Pain, Pediatrics, GI, Specialty

McNeil Consumer Healthcare"

How would I have handled this if I was a PR specialist for Motrin?

Well, first of all I would have done a bit more research of my target audience and secondary audiences. If there was any question that this ad might offend people I may have set up a test market first. But since they didn't do that, I would have done what the VP of marketing did...apologize to their audience for their stupid mistake and reassure them that it'll never happen again.