LATEST MARKETING ‘BUZZ’: ANTI-MOM FIRM OUT OF TOUCH WITH MOTHER MARKETS

Mothers & More Gives Apple Pie in the Face Award to Euro RSCG

Elmhurst, IL – Mothers & More has awarded its second Apple Pie in the Face Award to Euro RSCG Worldwide, a marketing communications agency, for its misguided and irresponsible “new categories of modern-day moms.”

“It is disturbing to see a marketing company push what can only be described as outrageous stereotypes to their clients, masking the offensive descriptors as a legitimate study of how mothers view themselves and the world,” says Kristin Maschka, President of Mothers & More. “Why is mom-bashing so accepted that these people are not embarrassed about inventing categories that manage to demean mothers no matter how they live? There are no positives in this interpretation of mothers. If such a negative ‘analysis’ were released on any other group, Euro RSCG would be called on the carpet as prejudiced.”

Mothers & More, who recently announced its top three picks for media that perpetuate and bust the “Seven Deadly Stereotypes” of mothers for its Mother’s Day Campaign, “Mothers – The Real Story,” is dedicated to improving the lives of mothers through support, education and advocacy. The organization especially takes exception to the obvious tone of momism in the report and the company’s apparent desire to manipulate marketing and the media to further its made-up version of reality.

Mothers & More asserts that whether a mother works for pay or not, whether she enrolls her children in extracurricular activities or not, whether she exercises or not, whether she pursues hobbies or not, whether she concerns herself with her and/or her children’s appearance or not, does not determine how good or bad she is as a mother. The member organization further affirms that all mothers are unique, and just as the women’s movement gained women the opportunity to be respected as individuals and seek their own life paths, it is time for mothers to receive the same opportunity to navigate their lives in ways that work for them and their families without being forced to fit into rigid stereotypes about how they “should” behave as mothers.

“This company is completely out of touch with real mothers if it thinks that mothers would actually strive to fit into one of these hateful categories,” says Maschka. “Mothers wield considerable power as the primary decision-makers for their families' purchases. And they are fed up with these divisive tactics. It’s time for firms like RSCG to realize that we will not respond to these emotionally manipulative ploys. Euro RSCG’s clients would fare better with their customers who are mothers if they understand and focus on our realities, not on divisive stereotypes.”

Mothers & More’s Apple Pie in the Face “award” is given to call attention to acts that divide mothers or trivialize the struggles mothers face in balancing caregiving with their other needs and responsibilities. With more than 170 chapters and over 7000 members, the organization has addressed mothers’ needs as individuals and members of society, and promoted the value of all the work mothers do for over 16 years. Mothers & More invites all mothers to speak out against the stereotypes that divide them and come together as a unified voice seeking reforms in our society that will lessen or eliminate some of the tough decisions mothers are now forced to make – and then criticized for. To learn more, visit www.mothersandmore.org

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