During International Babywearing Week, of all weeks, Motrin decided to unveal their new ad calling babywearing ‘a good idea in theory’ and ‘in fashion’ as the reason moms do it. I suppose someone at Motrin felt it was a good idea, since it was a babywearing-targeted message, to unveil it this week.
Someone obviously didn’t do their homework.
If someone had, they would’ve quickly figured out that creating an ad like this, to target babywearing moms, would in essence be knocking us down, spitting in our face, and kicking dirt on us. Babywearing isn’t a ‘good idea in theory’, it’s a good idea – period!
Motrin’s ad implies this is something new when in actuality, it’s not only been around for centuries, but numerous countries as well. According to Wikipedia:
Babywearing is far from new and has been practiced for centuries around the world.
I found that on Wikipedia! Motrin couldn’t even look up their facts on Wikipedia! There are many resources out there for anyone to research babywearing and to learn about what it is and what it isn’t, to include whether it’s ‘fashionable’. (ahem, Motrin people) Just because they make them in cute designs doesn’t mean the cute prints are the only reason we wear them.
Again, someone didn’t do their homework.
- Continuum Concept
- Dr. Sears
- Babywearing International
- Wears the Baby
- Babywearing
- Mamatoto
- The BabyWearer
Anyone with access to Google could read and see the numerous benefits to babywearing, which is WHY we do it, not because it has an Amy Butler print on it.
What on Earth were the Motrin people thinking when they constructed such a callous campaign to advocate for use of their product? Mothers “cry more” because of pain they supposedly endure when they babywear. Aww, come to us, we’ll help you. We feel your pain.
Uh, no. No you don’t. You definitely don’t if you can’t take 15 minutes out to research about my so-called ‘pain’.
Let me tell you about my pain, Motrin entourage, listen up! My pain is you not asking one. single. solitary. babywearing. momma. about why she babywears, and then creating an ad supposedly commiserating with her, me and every other babywearer telling me about “my pain”. My pain is doing something beautiful for my child, that helps them and me, and you denouncing it as something I do to ‘keep up with the Jones’ because I might think it’s ‘in fashion.’ Don’t come at me with your banter, hard-selling me your product, telling me you understand me when it’s apparent you can’t even take the time to get to know me in order to try to sell me. As if we’re all just a bunch of flaky mothers, just trying to stay in fashion or something.
I for one am not.
Watch Katja’s beautiful video she created about the uproar this has caused. Put me in tears.
*Edit – I Vlogged about it here.
