Motrin feels some pain with latest ad campaign targeting moms

In case you missed all the hubbub on Twitter, Motrin has yanked its latest ad campaign targeting moms who "wear their babies as fashion accessories" after an online backlash this past weekend. According to yesterday's Ad Age article, "the campaign has been online since Sept. 30 and has been circulating in several magazines for weeks, but it finally caught the attention -- and ire-- of some influential bloggers Friday night before blowing up into a full-fledge cause celebre on Twitter over the weekend. " Take a look at the ad copy and see for yourself. What's the big deal? Well... first and foremost, Motrin failed to fully understand its target audience, and by doing so, it broke a number of rules: 

1. The mommy wars are alive and well. If you are an advertiser, don't take sides, don't pretend you understand, and above all-- don't act like you "feel our pain."  

2.  The ad takes a stab at moms who "wear their babies as fashion accessories," which is problematic (if not offensive) on a number of levels. First- who would want to be accused of something as shallow as that? And second- of course my baby is a fashion accessory! He's way cuter than your expensive purse, too. See my point? Better to just not even go there in the first place.

3. Motrin also makes light of conventional wisdom promoting wearing your baby in a front carrier, a sling or a shwing (shwing - what is that and do I need one?) because then your baby might "cry less." Maybe Motrin didn't get the memo about how new moms will do anything, anything to keep a baby from crying all the time, including propping the car seat on top of the dryer, driving around the neighborhood at midnight, or purchasing any number of bouncy seats, swings (shwings?) and other gadgets designed to keep crying at a minimum-- including baby carriers. We really don't need an ad campaign to second-guess our parenting decisions when we haven't slept or showered in three days. 

4. And speaking of, Motrin kinda sorta acts like they get it with "If I look tired and crazy, people will know why" and "I'll put up with the pain because it's a good pain, a worthy pain" but then ruins their entire sell with "it totally makes me look like an official mom." Ummm, what exactly is an 'official mom'? That's like, so, totally weird. And shallow. And kind of offensive. At least to me, not that I'm looking to become an 'official mom' or anything. I mean, really, wasn't childbirth enough? Speaking of pain...

The funny thing about Motrin's gaff is that bad publicity can sometimes be just as effective as good publicity. Honestly, I hadn't given Motrin much thought until recently. I'd really seen it as more of a younger female-targeted menstrual cramp type of brand.  The bloating! The cramps!

But now that I know Motrin has moved their target audience to 30 and 40-something moms, I'll admit this particular form of pill popping has a new appeal. With a toddler in the house there are a few things that are causing me a bit of pain (which Motrin just as well could have highlighted in a humorous way instead of getting into the whole icky, shallow mom baby carrier debate), such as: lifting my kid in and out of the stroller, crib, carseat or high chair; plucking him off  counter tops, play sets, stairs, the coffee table, the dinner table; chasing after him at the park; or waking up in the morning with unbelievable neck and back pain because I'd been up three times in the middle of the night, bending over the crib in a really awkward way and then clenching my teeth in my sleep, if I slept at all. Sometimes motherhood hurts. See, now, isn't that tagline already better than "we feel your pain"?  

You want to know what else makes my neck and back hurt? Sitting at my computer, blogging.

What do teens, moms, Obama and vampires all have in common?

According to Daily Variety, "Vampires have always represented a certain psychosexual allure that has appealed to women." I don't know about that, but I do know this: "Twilight," coming to theaters this November 21, based on the bestselling novel by Stephenie Meyer, has achieved a level of marketing and branding genius I haven't seen well, since Harry Potter.

The core audience, of course is female teens and young women. 

"Since acquiring the film rights in turnaround from Paramount, Summit has carefully courted "Twilight's" core 13-24 crowd. In hiring director Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen") and scribe Melissa Rosenberg ("Step Up"), the studio is banking on two creatives who ostensibly know what young women want" reports Variety.

In doing so, they've very cleverly expanded the target market. "We've essentially taken the marketing tactics from a superhero film and applied it to a female property," said Summit marketing exec Nancy Kirkpatrick.

The site Twilight Moms connects moms and older women with the books and film hype, and now president-elect Obama is reading the series as well. What's next? Teenage boys, grown men and fathers flocking to this flick? Just you wait...  I think there's enough action and suspense to keep them from rolling their eyes when their girlfriends or wives suggest the movie on date night. And then there's the whole "vampires as teenage metaphor" that Summit is exploiting in an effort to lure males under age 25.  "A teenager, like a vampire, suddenly has a new kind of energy," says director Hardwicke. "They can drink, kiss and smoke. It's about how they control their impulses."

It's a coming-of-age theme that pretty much anyone over age 12 can relate to.

How do you get to Sesame Street? On YouTube of course

With nearly four decades on air, "Sesame Street" is a brand that is near and dear to most of our hearts. I have fond memories of learning my ABCs, singing songs and connecting with loveable characters. 'Screen time' wasn't split between hundreds of television channels, websites, electronic games or iPhone applications...  ahh, those were the days. But really-- times have changed and it's become harder and harder for kids brands (or any brand for that matter) to stand out amidst the clutter. And, truth be told, there's a lot of clutter out there. That's why I was so pleased to see that a trusted brand like Sesame Street was finally jumping into the game.

According to Monday's Reuters article: "Fans of Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie and the Count will be able to see episodes and clips of the show in three ways (iTunes, YouTube and Hulu). The announcement comes on the same day that "Sesame Street," which is broadcast in 140 countries, celebrates its 39th year on the air."

Both YouTube and Hulu have launched specific Sesame Street channels, with more than 100 clips from the show. On Apple's iTunes, you can download full episodes from season 35 and onward for $1.99. 

And that's a small price to pay for trusted, high quality educational content you can now download on the go. 

iTouch, You Touch

I just purchased a new iPod Touch this weekend and I can't tell you how excited I am about this amazing little device. Trouble is, my children (ages 6 and 18 months) can't keep their hands off the thing. Hands down, this new toy is more appealing to them than anything else in the house. My daughter gave up television, books-- even speaking-- so that she could escape to her room and play Monstar Maker and Kindergarten Math. I've barely had any time to download a handful of Apps but these are the ones that have grabbed her attention. The 18 month old? He's just fascinated with the interface - and Monstar Maker of course, but hasn't quite grasped the concept of basic navigation. Plus, he's a dangerous little devil so I finally had to take it away from him, tears and all.

I'd like to say that I'm ordinarily one of those parents that keeps expensive electronics away from my children, but clearly I'm not. And here's another dirty little secret: I bought this device for them, kind of. As a consultant in the children's media industry I happen to think that the iPhone/iPod Touch technology is the wave of the future and that anyone currently designing applications for the preschool and school-age market is onto something huge. So, naturally, I had to have one.

Letting my kids play with it all weekend is just the first phase of my market research.