Here’s something I never thought I’d be writing about on Inhabitots…..I just spotted my favorite brand of pain reliever bashing babywearing in a totally thoughtless and tone-deaf commercial for Motrin. See the commercial here >
I mean, wtf? Yes, carrying a baby can put strain on your back – as can carrying a laptop or any heavy item. But babywearing is so important for breastfeeding, infant development, and baby/parent bonding that I can’t believe Motrin would think that this subject matter is fair game for taking potshots. Does Motrin seriously believe that making fun of a cherished mom/baby bonding activity is a good strategy for endearing themselves to moms everywhere? I love carrying my little Inhabitot around, and this is always one of the highlights of my day. When it comes to headache and ladypain time, I’m switching to Advil! (Actually I usually just buy generic drugstore Ibuprofen anyway – but this definitely does turn me off from Motrin)
Who wants to bet that the art-director / copywriter on this ad was a clueless, childless guy?
+ Motrin bashes babywearing
Inhabitots stands up for babywearing!
I guess lots of moms and mombloggers are up in arms about this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhR-y1N6R8Q
http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/11/16/power-to-the-twitter-parents/
Well, I can\’t even get onto the site now to see the commercial, because it just won\’t load (different error codes). So, Inhabitat followers seem not to be the only ones up-in-arms. For what it\’s worth, I\’ve never cared for any of their ads. They always make life look like one big pain. Life is pretty sweet from where I\’m sitting.
So I guess that the dialogue box on the side where they say that Moms are “UNDERAPPRECIATED” means absolutely nothing?! Just trying to get my head around the wrong that has been done by pointing out the stress on the body causes by the joys of motherhood. Stresses that are often overlooked by the public and spouses. Stresses that they are pointing out to the world, that only a mother bonding with their child would endure! That most would not understand and that they have relief for. WTF? you say… I concur WTF?!
i just heard that through Babywearing International that motrin apologized and will be removing the ad. Wohoo for grassroots movements, for all the mamas coming together and setting the record straight. i love babywearing, and have never had to ‘take a motrin’ because of it.
there is an appology now on their site where the ad was…that was fast!
Arnica montana is an awesome homeopathic alternative to motrin!
Looks like they removed the ad from their website. Too bad because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!
The ad is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mztymu72l7c
This is a great article summing up what happened: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/moms-and-motrin/
Don’t mess with mamas!
They issued an apology on their website but it’s already appearing in print, so they can’t fully retract it.