Yes,
"Young Americans" has been on hiatus; too much other work going on! But it's 2009, and time to begin the New Year right...by laughing. Or at least stop trying to shut down other people's laughing.
The New York Times reported in its end-of-the-year review of advertising campaigns (did I mention that I am now an assiduous reader of the Business section of the Times? I used to line my bird cage with it; now I scrutinize it for portents, like our forbears scrutinized tea leaves or animal intestines. But I digress....) that two ad campaigns came in for particular censure during 2008. Both campaigns were directed to mothers, and both had the temerity to suggest that, for some moms somewhere, babies could be thought of as fashion accessories. The doomed Motrin campaign, in print and on the Internet, referred to carrying babies in a sling or backpack, and the voice-over "mom" sassily said, (wearing one of these things) "totally makes me look like an official mom." And also, by the way, might cause an aching back or neck, thus the Motrin. Johnson and Johnson, makers of Motrin, were pummeled by angry moms for daring to suggest that any mother anywhere might think about she presented herself to the world, or might wear the sling or backpack because she liked showing off her baby. Oh my Lord! No! Moms never think about that! They only think about "what's right for my baby." That's all they ever think about. I swear.
The other campaign, this one on television, featured Brooke Shields; in it she supposedly scolded customers for coveting the Volkswagen Routan, a minivan just oozing "German engineering," so much that they are having babies just as an excuse to buy the car. This campaign, too, was roundly booed by mothers, who apparently were deeply offended by....what was it they were offended by? That someone would make a very silly joke about having a baby to justify buying a car? No, no. Oh, God, no. Please don't jest about that.
As the Times article says, "Maybe Americans consider motherhood no laughing matter." No kidding. As I have discovered over and over as a parenting writer, making fun of "Moms" in America is like making fun of you-know-who in Jidda or Tehran; it is a form of blasphemy. Even making fun of some moms, or imaginary moms whose motives might be impure, is seen as a slur against all "Moms." I'm all for solidarity among "Moms," but is it true that a joke about one mom is a slur against all "Moms"?
My guess is that these ads were dreamed up by, and/or approved by Dads, or perhaps young women who are not "Moms." (Guess what? Sometimes young women who are not yet "Moms" feel oppressed by those who are, and feel that "Moms" are show-offs, and feel moved to make fun of them.) Dads and non-"Moms" are always getting in trouble for stuff like this. But, this being 2009 and the whole world going down the toilet and all, maybe we could lighten up a little? Maybe just a little? A joke now and then, even if it is a joke about "Moms," might make the whole year a little more bearable.
