Motrin Ad – The Controversy and The Exposure

I am not sure how many of you actually seen the new Motrin ad that was released over the weekend. I wanted to talk about it a little here because it is relevant to what we talk about – marketing. Before we get started on it I would like you to first watch the video if you haven’t already,

Did you find anything wrong with that video? Some didn’t and a lot of bloggers and moms did find the ad quite offensive. It was all over the web and bloggers and twitter users ganged up against this ad so bad that Motrin had to eventually take the ad down. I personally didn’t find anything wrong with the ad. Not sure why so many people got so offended. People seem to be too hung up on their own lives and sometimes a little sarcasm and humor tends to go over their head.

Well, the key reason we are talking about this particular ad is because of the exposure it got. Remember one of the key tactics to making anything viral is causing a controversy. Although Motrin’s initial plan might not have been to create controversy, it did. A huge controversy surrounded over this ad and it was one of the most talked about topics on the web, especially on Twitter. Moms ganged up, called mainstream media and well, Motrin ad was everywhere. I call this a success because the ad went viral. People that might not even know about Motrin now know about it. It was one of the most talked about things on the web, come on….everyone was talking about it. Word of mouth (chat,IM,emails,twitter,etc.) about the ad was flowing everywhere. One angry mom telling another angry mom via twitter and the conversation must have gotten carried at the dinner table to talk with their family. The next day husbands probably went to work and talked about the ad to their colleagues and kids to their friends at school. Exposure? Huge. Marketing? Success. Good product? You Bet!

Like I had said in the beginning this probably wasn’t planned by Motrin but it worked out on their behalf. I am sure most people that talked about this ad won’t simply stop consuming their products because of the ad because their product is good and does wonders for moms and women as I have heard. The web was abuzz about the Motrin ad and controversy was everywhere. Finally, after so much chaos and controversy surrounding it Motrin decided to take the ad down. Yes, they did take it down. Would I have taken the ad down? I wouldn’t have and if I did I would let it sit for a couple more days, at least a week to draw more exposure to the product.Here is the apology letter that was posted on their site,

What do you think happened once they posted the apology letter? More and more people started talking about it. All the bloggers and moms who ganged up against it started telling everyone how they had suceeded. It was talked once again on the web and I am sure it got carried onto the real world. I sure did talk about with my family and I bet they went and talked about it to their friends at work and school. So three things happened :

1. Controversy : Got Motrin a huge exposure and became one of the most talked about topic on the web
2. Apology : Everyone that ganged up against it talked about how they got them to remove the ad. More exposure
3. Reputation : Although some might think that Motrin is now doomed, it isn’t. Due to their apology letter now they are looked upon as a company that really cares what their customers think.

The essence of this article : Buzz marketing never fails. It captures your attention and makes you talk. When you can get million dollar advertising for chump change, that is what is called “smart marketing.”

Whether or not this whole thing was planned by Motrin (I doubt they had it planned) this was one of the best marketing campaign I have personally seen in quite a while.