Offended moms get tweet revenge over Motrin ads
— -- The maker of painkiller Motrin got a painful lesson in the power of online social networking.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare is yanking new Motrin ads after an outpouring of negative "tweets," or postings, via Twitter, video on YouTube and postings on other social sites.
"Twitter moms took on Big Pharma," says Gene Liebel, director of user experience at interactive agency Huge.
Twitter lets users communicate with text-message-like "micro" posts via cellphone, instant messaging or the Web. Many of its popular, regular posters have thousands of followers.
The ads, launched in magazines and online on Sept. 30, centered on new moms who carry their babies in slings (and might need Motrin). They likened the sling to a fashion accessory and said that while toting the baby can be tough, it "totally makes me look like an official mom."
Some moms saw the ads as snarky pokes at motherhood. Backlash hit a boiling point by Sunday, particularly with Twitter bloggers, even though some warned about overreacting.
By Sunday night, McNeil had sent an apology to bloggers and on Monday posted a separate apology on Motrin.com. "We have heard your concerns about the ad," says a statement by Kathy Widmer, marketing vice president. "We are parents ourselves and take feedback from moms very seriously. We are in the process of removing this ad from all media."
David Smith, CEO of digital media agency Mediasmith, criticized the apology as sounding stiff. "Their current response looks like one from a committee, carefully drafted and oh so corporate," he says. "In a world where a bunch of blogger moms are commenting on (its) practice, a slightly more human response was probably called for."
Liebel says McNeil should have been on top of the simmering controversy sooner but says McNeil can learn from it. Now that it knows the power of Twitter bloggers, McNeil could tap into this group for feedback before launching the next ad campaign. And, he says, "In the long term, (Motrin) will get smarter faster than other brands after getting through this."
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