Hasta La Creative!

“What do 30 moms who have never met have in common? Everything.”

Eco-friendly family product brand Honest Company brought together 30 moms for some open conversation about motherhood. The group was comprised of diverse (in race and sexuality, but maybe less so in age) moms who were—until that day—strangers. The topics for their discussion included balance, guilt, expectations, breastfeeding, partners, single motherhood and more.

Co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, Honest is a direct-to-consumer company that creates everything from lotions and shampoos to diapers and bathroom spray. Alba was inspired to create the company after having allergic reactions to popular household products during her first pregnancy, and she has since parlayed her dream of a natural product line into a billion-dollar enterprise. 

Created with content studio Influence, Honest Company’s videos attempt to spark more discussion among moms online by using the hashtag #YouGotThis, which might not have been the most strategically focused decision. #YouGotThis has grown to be a bit of a tired expression and is also frequently used in fitness circles. A cursory search on Twitter finds #yougotthis tagged onto well wishes to test takers and the Dallas Cowboys and marathon runners, which might dilute Honest’s messaging impact a bit.

But I applaud the desire to showcase some moms and honest conversation, especially in light of the fact that non-product-centric films like these, largely pioneered by Dove and Pantene, are also quite effective in increasing sales.

Honest’s moms have camaraderie that’s sweet and inspirational without being cloying.

“I grew up with this idea that I was going to be a perfect mom,” notes one. “Now that I am a mom, I realize there is no such thing as a perfect mom.”

“The truth is, most of us are REALLY good moms.”

Coming up with promotional freebies that will stand out in the sea of swag at BlogHer is always a challenge. But one brand may have taken its creativity a bit too far this year.

Bright Starts, a major producer of toys and toddler gear, was apparently on hand at the massive mom-blogger conference this weekend—and giving out realistic-looking pill bottles promoting its Baby Laugh Index microsite. Inside were Red Hots, packaged as some sort of giggle pills that “may cause serious laughter.”

These were promotional items created for adults attending the conference, and not something you can expect to see on store shelves. Still, as blogger Morgan Shanahan points out, it’s a bad idea to put candy in medicine containers, especially when you know they’re likely to end up back in homes with children.

“Pills are not funny. They’re not toys. They’re not even swag,” Shanahan writes. “They’re deadly when placed in the wrong hands. So what were you thinking, Bright Starts?”

UPDATE: An AdFreak reader points out that Sam’s tried something similar in 2009 and quickly apologized for the promotion.

We reached out to representatives of Bright Starts parent company Kids II and will update if we hear back.

UPDATE 2: Miles Bohannan, vp of marketing communications for Kids II, sent the following statement to AdFreak:

Our “prescription for laughter” in a pill bottle was part of a booth experience designed to support Bright Starts’ “Fun Comes First” campaign, which also featured a “Baby Laugh Index” quiz and a “dress as a baby” photo booth—all very tongue-in-cheek reminders of the importance of baby laughter.

Once we realized that the giveaways were concerning to some, we immediately stopped passing them out. We certainly understand and regret any misunderstanding this has caused, and welcome the opportunity to visit further should that be helpful.

Hat tip to Heather Spohr on Facebook.