Thursday, May 27, 2010

On Huggies And Poop


This is something that I know a little bit about. I have written well over a thousand commercials - mostly for radio with a handful for TV. The object for the commercial is to sell the product or service. THAT'S IT! Simple? Usually. In writing the commercial you must be familiar with the product or service. In this case it is disposable diapers. BINGO! I've got experience with this, too! If you ever changed a diaper, the Huggies commercial controversy will probably seem like nothing more than a pile of....let's not go there. The commercial in question promotes Huggies' new Jeans Diaper. It is scheduled to run on May 31, and was accepted by 13 networks, including NBC, TNT and E!, three others, ABC, ABC Family and Sprout, objected to screen text at the end of the spot that included the word “pooping,” according to Huggies. For those networks, the text was changed to, “When you gotta go, go in style.”(The brand did not seek to advertise on either CBS or Fox.)

Silly? Of course it is! We all poop. (I did, last Tuesday.) Besides, if we are forced to watch commercials for the prevention of erectile dysfunction, feminine products, dating services, The Bender Ball, etc, what's wrong with talking a little "baby poop?" After all, if they did not poop in their pants, they would not need diapers. Grow up kids, this is not offensive. Offensive is historic budget deficits...but that's a subject for another post...