Moms in the US are up in arms about a recent Motrin ad, the J&J brand of Ibuprofen in the US.
The ad implies that wearing your baby in a sling hurts your back, buy hey, you do it because it is fashionable and "supposedly" good for your child.
Twitter Moms especially did not like this one bit. And in my opinion you shouldn't piss off a group of about 14,000 mothers that are active in microblogging.
After viewing the ad, I highly doubt that anyone who has a child was involved in creating it. And it seems that no one thought it was important enough to test on the target market.
I know a few moms that work at J&J here, and I can just imagine their reaction (it was corporate!)
J&J has pulled the ad off their web site, but of course the print version is harder to stop.
Here's the full text of the ad:
"Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea. There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch. 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 body 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."
Take a look and let me know, do you wear your baby in a sling as a fashion statement?
Photo credit: Rosa Pomar
