Pain, Inc.
November 16th, 2008 by kitHeidi showed me this web-ad for Motrin this morning (opens in a new window):
I love these sorts of typographical ads. This particular presentation is slick, the breathless narration is quirky and funny, and it’s utter, totally, and completely insulting. The idea is that this trendy mom is complaining about the pain associated with wearing her baby. Motrin to the rescue.
I was watching this, and halfway through I was shouting at my computer screen,
If there’s pain,
YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!
As a baby-wearing dad, I find the premise of this ad ridiculous.
Wearing your baby because it’s trendy? You’re doing it wrong.
Experiencing pain while wearing your baby? You’re doing it wrong.
Blithely taking medicine to treat the symptoms rather than figuring out the cause? You’re doing it wrong.
I respect the company’s right to sell you their medicine. That’s fine. But it’s also my right to speak truth to this ad campaign.
Medication is all well and good for pain that you have no control over, like surgery related issues. Or severe physical injury. But if you’re experiencing pain over something you’re actively doing, then you’re doing it wrong.
Pain is your body’s early warning system. It says, “Stop doing it wrong before you seriously injure yourself. Fix it, dummy!”
Baby wearing, if you’re doing it right, doesn’t hurt. It’s rather a nice way to lug a child around, nestled comfortably right above your center of gravity. I find that I can go for hours wearing my babies. But, then again, I’m doing it right.
It’s a shame that all that talent and clever presentation was wasted on such a stupid premise.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Thanks for commenting! I have you linked.
Is that an Ella Roo wrap in the picture? We have a stripey green one that looks similar!
November 16th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Kit’s making the kids lunch while I nurse so I’ll answer for him.
He’s wearing a Baby Bjorn we were lucky to get off of Freecycle. Emy’s clutching her blanket in that picture which is why it probably looks like a different type of carrier. Now I wear Emy in the Ergo while he wears Joseph in the Bjorn, I love having both.
November 16th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
When I told my husband I was pregnant again, at 40, with our fourth daughter, one of the first things he bought was a new backpack! He couldn’t wait to put her in it and still carries her whenever he can…no Motrin necessary!
Thanks for the post!
Linked to it!
@newoldmom
Tina
November 16th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Tina,
I have fond memories of a frame backpack carrier we borrowed when we took a family trip to Germany — our seven-year-old was just a baby at the time.
Good times. Thanks for linking to us!
November 17th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Ok…so I was torn on this one. I can see why some would think the ad was offensive. Perhaps I don’t offend easily or I can see why somebody would say it hurts.
It never really did hurt me in the beginning. In the beginning I loved it. But as Aidan got bigger and approached the weight limit on the Bjorn I started to cringe. Probably after 20 pounds it really did start to hurt me a bit. But until then, no problems and I loved it.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Blithely taking medicine to treat the symptoms rather than figuring out the cause? You’re doing it wrong.
I respect the company’s right to sell you their medicine. That’s fine. But it’s also my right to speak truth to this ad campaign.
Medication is all well and good for pain that you have no control over, like surgery related issues. Or severe physical injury. But if you’re experiencing pain over something you’re actively doing, then you’re doing it wrong.
Pain is your body’s early warning system. It says, “Stop doing it wrong before you seriously injure yourself. Fix it, dummy!”
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! You have no IDEA how many times a day I want to shout this to the customer asking me for pain med advice (and there are so many of them a day). I think I will take a new approach to these patients and figure out if there is a way the pain could be prevented in the first place with some minor adjustments. Thanks Kit!