[LittlePeanut]

This is from another chat site I frequent...

Quote:

I recieved this email today Subject: Tide commercial promotes artificial feeding To: [email protected] August 9, 2006 Tide commercial promotes bottle-feeding A new commercial currently being aired on Canadian and American television equates motherhood with bottle-feeding and presents artificial feeding as the normal standard of practice. The commercial, which is advertising a new brand of Tide laundry detergent, shows a mother feeding a bottle to her baby under a voice-over which says "It's the difference between smelling like a mother, and smelling like a woman." The bottle-feeding image is supposed to represent motherhood while the image which follows, a man embracing the same woman, is supposed to represent womanhood. While clearly the ad has no malicious intent, it is images like these which help to normalize artificial feeding in the public eye and promote the false notion that infant formula use is unproblematic and essentially equivalent to breastmilk. In this way, the Tide ad is parroting the messages of infant formula companies, and as such the ad amounts to a promotion for artificial feeding. Please send an email to Tide to let them know that this ad is completely inappropriate and detrimental to infant health. You'll have to visit parent company Proctor and Gamble's website here and email them. Suggested text: I recently saw your commercial entitled "the Difference," and I must say that I strongly object to one particular image it contained. The image you chose to represent motherhood was a woman feeding her baby with a bottle. Your commercial presents bottle-feeding as the standard motherly practice however it is widely accepted in the medical community that babies who are artificially fed are at much greater risk for serious health problems such as asthma, allergies, childhood cancers, and diarrhoea. It is the goal of infant formula companies to present their products as unproblematic and essentially equivalent to breastmilk. In equating bottle feeding with natural motherhood, your Tide commercial promotes the formula companies' message. I understand that there was no malicious intent to your commercial, yet it is very important that the health risks associated with infant formula are not glossed over with tender images such as the ones in your commercial. I would ask you to stop running the ad.

That ad had me seeing red too! I was showing to everyone when it was on saying "WTH - Because I BF I don't smell like a MOM?!". It really pissed me off to say the least and I've been meaning to write to them about that. It's soooooo wrong. Is the bottle really even necessary in that ad? No. They could get their point across just as clearly without it.

LP

 

[jillc512]

I agree. No more Tide at our house.

 

[kalisis]

I emailed them - thanks for that.

to Tide.

For anyone else - HERE is the link to email them (it was a bit hard to find and took me a minute).

 

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I sent off an email a few days ago when I first saw the add.

One thought I had was that given how stinky formula can be if that's how I *mom* smells than I'm glad I don't smell like a *mom*

 

[momtoNatalee]

Yes, I hate that commercial. I have heard some people were not as worked up or upset b/c in their(Procter and Gamble) Pampers commercial it shows a new mom bfing. It is a great commercial but it's no excuse for that awful Tide one. I will write them

 

[cielle]

Ew. Insulting to women as a whole - bf or not.

No wonder so many mdc moms have banned TV.

 

[BabyBumblebee]

OMG that's horrid.

No more Tide AT ALL in this house

and a letter to P&G on its way too....

Thanks for the heads-up, mama.

 

[pinkmilk]

I analized that commercial quietly for a day. THEN dh! was up in arms when he saw it the next day!!! Who knew my husband would be such a lactivist!!

I think if the commercial showed a mom nursing it would give the impression that nursing stinks and this would be bad. I think other things would better represent the smelling-like-a-mother idea...such as food all over you, poop on your hands...puke on your pants...puke running down your clevage and pooling in your bra....

 

[boodafli]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkmilk I analized that commercial quietly for a day. THEN dh! was up in arms when he saw it the next day!!! Who knew my husband would be such a lactivist!! I think if the commercial showed a mom nursing it would give the impression that nursing stinks and this would be bad. I think other things would better represent the smelling-like-a-mother idea...such as food all over you, poop on your hands...puke on your pants...puke running down your clevage and pooling in your bra....

uke

 

[justplainbecky]

Too funny, we were watching TV the other night and this commercial came on, my husband had the remote and as soon as it showed the bottle in that babes mouth, my husband says "oh boy" and turned the channel!

:

 

[kozmickreations05]

Weird!! I just wrote Tide RIGHT after I saw the commercial and then I came on here to let ya'll know and your already got it posted!! Way to go MDC mamas!! I didnt even catch the whole commercial...I saw all I needed to see!

 

[goosysmom]

Good thing I am allergic to it....

I just started caring for an 8wk old little girl a few hours a day, few hours a week and the mama uses Soy Formula....boy does it stink......and I got spit up on and I changed my shirt bc of how bad it smelled...WHEW....I fumbled with the bottle....the nipple on it's too big for the poor thing...It's a friend of mine's little girl......

I"m so happy I breastfed.....er, feed....

 

[indie]

I think it would actually be worse if they showed breastfeeding because it would imply that breastfeeding makes you stinky. Its offensive all around because it makes moms out to be stinky. And when it says "the difference between smelling like a woman and smelling like a mom" it implies that moms aren't real women. Only sex kittens unencumbered by children are real women.

 

[GooeyRN]

I took the commercial as stating that formula smells bad, and so does the spit up it causes, and Tide is good for getting out formula stains. I guess I read into it differently. I don't use Tide. I get everything out with ALL. I kind of agreed how moms don't always smell the best. My baby gets breastmilk. It smells sweet at first... But if some gets on my clothes in the early am, it doesn't smell so nice in the late evening now that its summer. If I don't get up super early in the am (before 5am, baby's waking time) I don't get a shower that day since baby doesn't nap long enough for me to take a shower. So.... I have to agree that *I* (not saying you, or all moms, or all bfing moms, or FF moms, or anyone in particular) do not always smell so nice as a mom. I was not offended by seeing baby get a bottle. I think I would have been offended if mom was BFing, b/c then I would feel like they were saying BFing stinks, or BFing moms stink. I guess its all how ya look and interpret things. Although I don't like to see bottlefeeding encouraged.

 

[Robin926]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indie I think it would actually be worse if they showed breastfeeding because it would imply that breastfeeding makes you stinky. Its offensive all around because it makes moms out to be stinky. And when it says "the difference between smelling like a woman and smelling like a mom" it implies that moms aren't real women. Only sex kittens unencumbered by children are real women.

:

I also hate that it seems to equate "being a mom" with feeding a bottle, but the sexism of it is what bothered me the most.

 

[tallulahma]

i just saw this commercial last night and it absolutely disgusted me. No, smelling like a mom does not include reeking of gross half digested formula.

it IS expected everywhere...makes me so mad. When dd was a month old, I came out of the backroom of my friends eyeglass shop and handed her to my friend. I said, "here you go she just ate so she'll be content for you to hold her for at least ten minute" (my dd ate constantly) One of his customers said, "well I can tell this is your first ... you havent learned the courtesy of giving people a burp cloth to protect them from all that spitup shes about to have" It made me so angry.

 

[sapphire_chan]

I think they should just show a baby spitting up and not show how the baby is fed at all. Breastfeeding spit up is still stinky even if it's not near as bad as formula, of course it also tends to only happen if the baby has reflux or something. I think making it toddler related with a mom all sweaty from chasing around after a kid would also be better.

 

[Mama Poot]

I was wondering if someone would post about this. I saw the commercial and just

and turned the TV off. I agree with pp's that its offensive to women. I'm glad we use All

 

[Pandora114]

I heart how breastmilk spitup cleans! No need to totally change your clothes! Just take a cloth with water and rub the spot a little bit and voila, all gone, and when it dries, no smell, no stain no nothing..it's...GONE!!!!

%100 water soluable. No detergent needed rah!

 

[muckemom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cielle Ew. Insulting to women as a whole - bf or not. No wonder so many mdc moms have banned TV.

Whoo hoo!!! I felt the same way about that commercial... even though we didn't BF... not my choice though, you can read my other threads to see that, but the implication that mother's "stink"... and need to fix that in order to be found desirable... HA!

Boo to Tide!