Background: J&J ran an Motrin ad with an irreverent tone to identify with young moms and the back pain associated with lugging infants in baby carriers. But it struck the wrong cord with some and drew fire on Twitter and from a small cadre of “mommy bloggers” — the most vocal members of the demographic J&J was trying to woo.
* * * * *
Excerpted from Ad Age, “Crashing Motrin-Gate: A Social-Media Case Study” by Jack Neff, November 24, 2008
At first glance, it looks like J&J’s Motrin was chastened by the power of social media when it yanked a Motrin ad campaign…’Motrin-gate’ proves the power of social media for marketers as well as how quickly marketers can be forced to buckle to a relatively small but vocal minority of people…
J&J might have been a tad hasty in pulling down its ad. In doing so, it bowed to a vocal flash mob that represents a tiny fraction of moms…And despite a storm of media attention, the ad … received less exposure than one 30-second spot on a cable news network.
On the one hand, so-called Motrin-gate proves the power of social media for marketers. On the other, it proves how quickly marketers can be forced to buckle to a relatively small but vocal minority of people who can create “flash floods”…
Yet, not that many people ultimately paid attention…about as many people saw the ad without turning to social media in outrage … as saw it during the week after it broke … most online buzz about Motrin-gate was either positive or neutral in tone toward J&J and the ads…
“If Motrin’s brand managers were not just listening to the market, but accurately measuring it too, they might not have been so quick to panic and pull the ad” …J &J should have kept the campaign in place, apologized to critics in whatever medium they had used to complain, and used the opportunity to engage in dialogue…
Corporate marketers already knew about the power of mommy bloggers…They are buying ads, they are engaging women online. They are sponsoring trips, sending you even MORE free stuff. They are paying for YOU to consult for them. … You have their attention. You have the power”…
Edit by SAC
* * * * *
Some may argue that J&J was too fast to react to the mommy bloggers with the Motrin Ad controversy. As the article notes, not that many people actually paid attention to the controversy and the resulting buzz was for the most part was neutral if not positive. However, it is unclear what damage may have done if the ad had not been pulled and as this controversy proves, the influence of small, yet vocal groups such as Mommy bloggers is not to be underestimated.
* * * * *
Want more from the Homa Files?
Click link => The Homa Files Blog
The Homa Files 
Leave a comment