The power of the internet is truly amazing. One simple post in 140 characters or less can go viral and potentially launch a product or destroy a reputation. Apparently, JessicaGottlieb tweeted a message about Motrin’s webad targeting moms. Little did Jessica Gottlieb know she started something that turned B-I-G very quickly.

Motrin’s Mom-Alouge webad is seen as offensive to moms who enjoy wearing their babies. It also shows a complete lack of understanding as to why moms wear their babies. The ad has opened a hornet’s nest among mommybloggers. Some of the things the ad states are:

“Wearing you baby seems to be in fashion these days. I mean in theory it ’s a great idea. . . Supposedly it’s a real bonding experience. . . babies cry less. . . what about me? . . Do moms who wear their babies cry more? I know I sure do. . . strain on back, shoulders, neck. . . Did I mention back pain? . . . I’m willing. . . I mean it’s for my kid and it totally makes me look like an offical mom. . . If I look tired and crazy people will understand why.”

“Offical Mom?” “Tired and crazy?” These are not the best words to use to get moms on your side and to purchase your product. Granted, there probably are some moms who do it because they think it is cool. There are always “sheeple.” For the most part, however, the moms I know who wear their babies do it because it truly does help calm the babies down. Babywearing actually cause less back strain than carrying those ridiculously large and heavy “baby carriers” aka “infant carseats!”

I had an awesome pregnancy, especially for someone carrying twins. I went 38 1/2 weeks. After 48 hours of induced labor, I finally had a c-section. Within 90 minutes of my surgery, I was nursing both babies at the same time and continued to nurse them at the same countless times each day. I carried both babies in my arms as often as possible to reduce the number of trips I had to make. Believe me when I say I know back pain. Ibuprofen really does help reduce the swelling and pain.

If I were advertising to moms and wanted them to take my product for their back pain, I would highlight the everyday routines of raising children that cause back pain: picking up the toys, chasing after a child to prevent permanent injury, picking up the dropped spoon for the 100th 1,000th time, holding a child while going up and down stairs, exercising while pushing a stroller, carrying the heavy infant carseats into a grocery store (rather than just wearing the baby) etc., etc., etc. These are things that every mom (and dad) does that causes back strain without insulting a particular group of moms.

Instead of producing an ad that encompasses everyone, they have upset a group of influential moms. Some of the moms who are upset have thousands of people reading their blog on a daily and/or weekly basis. Moms are calling to boycott Motrin brand products. Moms are blogging about it. Here are just a few posts.

• Who’s Feeling the Pain Now
• Motrin’s New Ad = Wrong Message, Wrong Time, Wrong All Around
• When Motrin Creates a Marketing Mom Miss
• Motrin Outrage as #MotrinMoms Reaches #2 on Twitter
• Advertising Gone Wrong Twitter Moms Sound Off About Motrin

You can see all the tweets about it by going twitter search and typing in #motrinmoms (it is plural).

Some companies have caught on to the social media age. Wal-Mart has their 11 moms. Sony had a mommyblogger event. Ford reached out to JessicaKnows and now we know about Ford Flex. Good or bad Johnson & Johnson reached out to Mommybloggers, which is more than many companies are willing to do. Glamour and Suave teamed up to send moms to the Red Carpet. For that matter, some politicians have caught on. President-Elect Obama’s campaign sure did.

These companies get it. Motrin will probably get it tomorrow morning when they read all their emails. Mommybloggers have influence. Many have hundreds, if not thousands, of daily and weekly followers. They tell people what they like and what they do not like. Treat a mommyblogger well and they are more than happy to pitch your product. Yes, they probably will (and if not they should) request a fee to do so, but it is a small price to pay for positive advertising.

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