Comments on: A huge social media headache for Motrin http://polymerstudios.com/2008/11/23/a-huge-social-media-headache-for-motrin/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:34:32 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Morriss Partee http://polymerstudios.com/2008/11/23/a-huge-social-media-headache-for-motrin/comment-page-1/#comment-1679 Morriss Partee Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:38:23 +0000 http://polymerstudios.com/blog/?p=418#comment-1679 Good write up, and additional links. Thanks for the link to my summary too. Good write up, and additional links. Thanks for the link to my summary too.

]]> By: Julie Mackenzie http://polymerstudios.com/2008/11/23/a-huge-social-media-headache-for-motrin/comment-page-1/#comment-1584 Julie Mackenzie Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:55:37 +0000 http://polymerstudios.com/blog/?p=418#comment-1584 Well I think we could get in as much danger trying to id the copywriter as they were in their writing. I know young mothers who didn't like this ad either - so who knows. I think it's just that when creatives 'provoke' in order to break through that they need to be willing to do the work of understanding the values, especially now when the feedback happens at such break-neck speed. I can only imagine a potential shift from agency/corp driven messaging to a shared agency/corp/customer driven message. Well I think we could get in as much danger trying to id the copywriter as they were in their writing. I know young mothers who didn’t like this ad either – so who knows. I think it’s just that when creatives ‘provoke’ in order to break through that they need to be willing to do the work of understanding the values, especially now when the feedback happens at such break-neck speed. I can only imagine a potential shift from agency/corp driven messaging to a shared agency/corp/customer driven message.

]]> By: Don Ball http://polymerstudios.com/2008/11/23/a-huge-social-media-headache-for-motrin/comment-page-1/#comment-1582 Don Ball Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:23:06 +0000 http://polymerstudios.com/blog/?p=418#comment-1582 Great points, Julie. Funny that there would be a gap in understanding when it comes to half the consumer population, but there it is. And, really, it's not half the population. There are so many tribes (to use the latest Godinism) within... That's why I was convinced that the ad was written by a young female copywriter...someone who came from a tribe that is perhaps more concerned with outer appearances...trying to speak to a tribe that doesn't give a damn. The result was a tone-deaf attempt at empathy that came off as condescending. You'd think that by now we'd be past advertising to sterotypes (vacumming in high heels? really?), the alternative – trying to understand different groups with different values – is really hard work. Great points, Julie. Funny that there would be a gap in understanding when it comes to half the consumer population, but there it is. And, really, it’s not half the population. There are so many tribes (to use the latest Godinism) within… That’s why I was convinced that the ad was written by a young female copywriter…someone who came from a tribe that is perhaps more concerned with outer appearances…trying to speak to a tribe that doesn’t give a damn. The result was a tone-deaf attempt at empathy that came off as condescending.

You’d think that by now we’d be past advertising to sterotypes (vacumming in high heels? really?), the alternative – trying to understand different groups with different values – is really hard work.

]]> By: Julie Mackenzie http://polymerstudios.com/2008/11/23/a-huge-social-media-headache-for-motrin/comment-page-1/#comment-1581 Julie Mackenzie Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:07:44 +0000 http://polymerstudios.com/blog/?p=418#comment-1581 Per AdAge "The tone was intended to be real and lighthearted, but it came off as irreverent." I see this as a common mistake made by creative teams who aim for provocative but fail to recognize the value-set(s) of their customer. So you could chalk it up as just being a mediocre and perhaps offensive ad. (I have four kids and I thought it was offensive too - but I feel the same way about ads with women in high heels pushing vacuum cleaners around or making Lipton soup while the kids tear the house down. There may be as much room for growth in marketing to women as there is in understanding social media. But that's another story.) It is interesting how much dialogue this incidence is still generating and how much everyone is learning about social media. It's definitely an interesting and fast moving target. Per AdAge “The tone was intended to be real and lighthearted, but it came off as irreverent.”
I see this as a common mistake made by creative teams who aim for provocative but fail to recognize the value-set(s) of their customer. So you could chalk it up as just being a mediocre and perhaps offensive ad. (I have four kids and I thought it was offensive too – but I feel the same way about ads with women in high heels pushing vacuum cleaners around or making Lipton soup while the kids tear the house down. There may be as much room for growth in marketing to women as there is in understanding social media. But that’s another story.)

It is interesting how much dialogue this incidence is still generating and how much everyone is learning about social media. It’s definitely an interesting and fast moving target.

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