Don't Mess With the Mamas
Can anyone ever forget that creepy feeling they got when watching Rebecca De Mornay's nanny character breastfeeding the baby in 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'? Well, kinda creepy. Those of us with chronic milk supply issues have been known to scream out "where's that crazy breast-feeding nanny when you need her?" as we scan the want ads for a wet nurse.
That movie title comes from an expression that long acknowledges that mamas are powerful. Shaping the next generation is a big job but our power does not stop there. A recent article in the New York Times quotes a study confirming what we have long known at Mabel's Labels - mamas can make or break your business. More than ever, women are making the buying decisions for families and looking to each other (and not advertising) for information on products. Mama customers are a force to be reckoned with and you had better serve up top quality product and customer service. If you don't, a mama can take you down with one blog post and no amount of advertising will dig you out of that hole.
Mamas have solid social networks and a strong online presence where we are willing to share our opinions about everything from what stroller we like best to how many cup sizes we've dropped since finishing breastfeeding.
A couple of months ago Motrin got it ALL wrong with the mamas when they put out an ad that slammed baby wearing. That advertisement will likely go down as a case study in the "Do Nots" of marketing classes everywhere. The ad received a strong response: mamas everywhere were talking about it on their blogs, twitter and mama message boards. There was a mad flurry of outrage that caused immediate ad removal and apology. But, it was too little too late - the mamas had spoken and the result is what is now known as "Motrin-gate".
To see the ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO6SlTUBA38
If the ad has enraged you, here's the spoof to cheer you up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpqpAGLS2t4&NR=1
The moral of the story - don't go messing with the mamas. We are a powerful online force who will voice our objections all over the Internet. Sadly, the folks at Motrin learned the lesson about the hand that rocks the cradle the hard way. We are mamas, and you don't want to hear us roar!
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