Marketers: Stop Peddling Fear to Moms
On my drive into work today, I saw a bumper sticker that read: Jason on Board.
A little creative Googling and I found the site selling these customized stickers: My Baby on Board.com. Their tagline – The safest way to ride with your precious cargo.
I’ve got a problem with companies like this. They prey on a parent’s biggest fears and answer them with a flimsy “solution.”
Jason is no safer riding in a car where his name is announced via the back seat, as this funny e-card I found on Pinterest illustrates:
“Baby On Board” Oh really? Ok, I WAS going to ram into the back of your car, but now I won’t.
Worse still, the company’s ‘About Us’ page explains “My Baby On Board.Com was then established, spicing up the dusty, non-effective image of the baby signs and made them suitable for modern requirements.”
Huh? This is marketing-ese for “a graphic designer mom thought her designs were just way cooler than the black and yellow ones currently in market.” Case closed.
As someone who works in advertising, I am aware of how distrustful the public is of marketers. As one Gallup poll indicated, we are even less honest/ethical than stockbrokers. So I resent marketers who reinforce this distrust.
My advice? If you’re a parent, see fear only as a healthy motivator when it’s about real dangers with good solutions, like having your child always wear a bike helmet or seat belt. And if you’re a marketer, turn down the fear-o-meter in your messaging and do the harder work of finding a real benefit to what you offer.
As for Baby Jason? I hope he stays safe. And that 16 years from now, I spot a “Jason Behind the Wheel” sticker whiz past me. Now that’s a safety message I could get behind.
Kat Gordon is founder and Creative Director at Maternal Instinct, an ad agency dedicated to connecting with the mom market. She is also the founder of The 3% Conference, highlighting the business need for more women to serve as Advertising Creative Directors.
