Motrin = Schooner Tuna
Carolyn: Well, frankly none of this stuff would influence me, all right?
Male executive: Come on, Ron. She doesn’t know a tuna fish from a Cheerio.
Female executive: Damn good thing we don’t have the Cheerio account.
Carolyn: Well, when was the last time any of you people were in a supermarket?
Anyone else remember the movie “Mr. Mom”?
Where the housewife goes back to work for an ad agency and gets laughed out of her first meeting for daring to suggest that the ad campaign ideas on the table were all – to put it bluntly – terrible?
When she herself was their target market – or had been up until the day before?
Yeah.
That’s what makes me laugh about this whole Motrin brouhaha.
Setting aside whether or not the ad was good or bad (although for the record, I say bad), it’s interesting to me to see how many bloggers have railed against those who are railing against the ad – when those who are railing against it are the target market.
They’re Carolyn Butler. Maybe they don’t have their ad exec chops, but they might just know a little bit about how to reach people just like themselves. Conversely, they might have a pretty good idea what turns off other moms.
It was Carolyn Butler who turned that tuna account around, thanks to her personal experience, her insight into the market – an insight that wasn’t shared by the rest of the execs around that table. From “Yum Yum Tuna Bits” to “The Tuna With a Heart”, it was she who brought the priorities of consumers – of moms like her – to that boardroom.
That’s what companies (not just the makers of Motrin, but all companies) ought to take away from this outpouring of criticism. The mistake goes deeper than a slight against babywearing moms. Further than faulty assumptions regarding the reasons for babywearing. It started with a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of a parent’s perspective – someone who’s been there, done that.
Maybe the delivery is a bit off in some cases – just like the tone of the ad, in my opinion – but there’s a valid point behind it that ought to be heard. If an ad doesn’t resonate with much of your target market – or worse, if it offends part of your target market – then it might be deserving of some criticism.
Motrin gets that; they’ve apologized and pulled the ad.
But those who continue to insist that there’s no reason to be offended – well, they don’t get it. It doesn’t matter whether they’re personally okay with the ad; what matters is that there were a lot of people who weren’t okay with it. Telling them how they should react – or that they shouldn’t react at all – misses the point.
We’re the target market, just like Carolyn Butler. And Motrin, just like Schooner Tuna, might just benefit from some of our insights.
Here’s hoping Motrin shows themselves to be the painkiller with a heart.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:06 pm
When I got the RSS for this post, I read the title and immediately started thinking about “Mr. Mom!” Then I clicked through, and got the message that the blog was down.
You had me in suspense the whole time!
Glad you’re back up and running.
Christys last blog post..We have a winner!
November 21st, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Like Christy I’ve been waiting with bated breath all week (whatever that means).
This is absolutely spot on Julie.
And now I’m going to go make sure my husband isn’t having an affair with my sahm best friend with the big hair and the 2 pack a day habit.
mom101s last blog post..I am definitely in the wrong industry
November 21st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
First, I’m glad your blog is back. I tried to click through from my reader a couple days ago and couldn’t!
Second, well, my original thought on the Motrin controversy is this. Yes, I think people should complain if an ad is offensive to them, especially if they are part of the target market. However, given the perceived offense, I do think the reaction was over the top. If moms want to mobilize, and force change in the ad industry, I think they would be better off tackling more important issues (or lines) than those that Motrin hit. What about addressing the bigger issues of ad demographics? Where are blended families, moms who aren’t white, thin, and middle to upper class? Why not complain when husbands are portrayed as incompetent duds? Why not complain when moms are deliriously happy because their houses smell like lilies, or their toilet bowls sparkle? To me, what happened in the Motrin ad was no more or less offensive than what happens on a daily basis in the advertising world.
And so, the ensuing maelstrom seemed, at best, to be an opportunistic chance to jump on a random bandwagon by many in the blogging community, rather than a truly thoughtful or insightful protest about the advertising industry as it markets to the “mommy” demographic on a daily, monthly, yearly basis.
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November 26th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
That is so perfectly said, Julie. I’m really impressed that so many people who were upset over the ad actually did something about it! Hopefully, people will realize that their opinions count and rally more over the other problems in advertising! To me, this was a great place to start–in fact, any place is a great place to start, if it speaks to you!
As a side note, when I watched the ad, my jaw dropped. I just couldn’t believe it was a real ad!
Also, loved the Mr. Mom references! So true!
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