Johnson + Johnson’s new social media campaign tries to help moms by giving them helpful tools to put their babies to sleep. The dedicated sleep sitelet features videos on the key steps to get babies to sleep. But, there are some key ‘What Not to Do” tips that emerge from J+J’s approach to the sleep videos:
- Overproduced: The videos are too slick. They look like they were shot in studio. This is the youtube age. The drawback to being overproduced is you look corporate–and not trustworthy.
- UnRealistic: These babies are cooing and being adorable. Anyone who has ever bathed, massaged, or put a baby to bed knows their is nothing realistic about this picture. Babies writhe, resist, cry, fuss, giggle. It’s not helpful to demonstrate putting a baby to sleep without showing these realities. And the moms? They are waaaay too calm, pleasant, pretty, coiffed. These folks need to come to my house for a healthy dose of what bedtime looks like (see photo for a purview into our calming bath ritual)
- Branded: I’m sure the J+J folks are patting themselves on the back for creating a helpful spot that isn’t pushing product. And yet, they are trying to brand an issue and approach that they simply didn’t invent.
From Johnson’s, the first and only brand with the first and only 3-step nighttime routine that’s clinically proven to promote better sleep for babies and toddlers
Please J+J. Stop trying so hard. Just be helpful, realistic and stop trying to get yourself in the picture. Just being helpful gives you the benefit of the halo effect, no need to make claims beyond that.
Online video can be great. And these videos are on a topic that is very relevant to new parents. The J&J execution, however, is where it all goes down the drain.
