After Joy’s Clear Writing Workshop, I started thinking about how social media is influencing public relations writing. I came across a Motrin commercial from 2008 that made me question the impact of viral media on public relations. The commercial was posted on the company’s website during International Baby Wearing Week:

People reacted immediately to the ad, and a negative uproar ensued. From tweets to bloggers, Motrin faced a backlash that they weren’t prepared for: the power of social networking. Motrin pulled the campaign and apologized – two days later. The existence of social tools requires companies to have an immediate crisis plan. In just two days, Motrin devalued their brand by not responding quickly.

I think Motrin used an irreverent tone to identify with the ‘younger’ moms and failed. I think it bordered on condescending, resulting in “baby wearing moms” feeling insulted.

The tagline was “we feel your pain.” That was all it took for me to understand why bloggers (parenting blogs), and mothers (through twitter) reacted so negatively.

PLEASE let me know your thoughts on commercial, specifically the wording and tone.

1) Was it a PR disaster waiting to happen?

2) Did Motrin wait too long to apologize in a world where bloggers keep blogging throughout the day and people tweet non stop?

3) Is their message clear?

4) Did they execute the message in the appropriate manner for their target audience?

Brands have always been delicate things – companies need to be more careful and prepared in today world of social media and social networking.