Your favorite social media marketing event is headed to NYC this May 12–14! Register for Social Media Week before December 16 to lock in early-bird rates and save 50% on your pass.
What makes you look at Molly Baz’s latest campaign for Bobbie? Breasts? Breastfeeding?
Formula feeding is very, very normal. But it is still not normalized. There’s a stigma that exists within the parenting community, particularly for mothers who, to an outsider’s eyes, appear to have the option to breastfeed.
My hot take: Brands owe us nothing beyond giving us safe, reliable products. Yes, they need to deliver on the promises of their products and services. But they don’t technically owe us socially minded initiatives; they’re not on the hook for any efforts aimed at shifting perceptions.
Yet, on a deeper level, brands can be effective at shifting perceptions and driving cultural change. Brands can choose to take a stand—as long as they’re willing to lean in and embrace the risk and reward.
The ROI on taboo topics
Why does this ad make such an impression on me? Easy: I was in that target audience. I chose to breastfeed my son. I fed him at the pizza place, in the park, and at just about every rest stop from New Jersey to Hilton Head. When I went back to work, I pumped. I rearranged meetings; I hid in the server room. Formula would have been easier. But I’ll admit—and maybe I’m ashamed to admit—I didn’t want to.
For Bobbie, there’s a direct correlation between the bold move and their bottom line: Their billboard addresses mothers who have been conditioned to think that formula equals failure. When more moms consider combo feeding, as Baz says she does, Bobbie gets more shoppers trying the product. Opening minds, shifting perceptions, driving sales.
There’s an indirect sell here, too, which can’t be ignored. Specifically, 70% of consumers want to support brands that align with their values—a number that grew exponentially in 2020, driven by the pandemic and the country’s desperate cries for social change. Given that this 70% represents billions in spending power, you can start to see why so many brands thought it was a good idea to post a black square a few years back. (And then got called out for it.)
Then, of course, there’s the ROI on taboo topics. Polarizing content elicits strong reactions, making it highly shareable, giving any campaign a chance to earn media and viral fame. A billboard isn’t just a billboard; it’s a ready-made Instagram post, a conversation starter for your group chat. It’s easy to imagine that’s what informed the casting of Bobbie’s campaign.
Bobbie’s ad takes aim at the breastfeeding stigma and fires at it with a cannon. A great campaign can do that.
Tackling taboo topics
Not every brand is ready. But if you are, here’s where to start.
Do your research
Be honest. What does your audience really care about?
Yes, read reports. But keep in mind that while statistics make convincing arguments in your decks, self-reported data can be riddled with lies and inconsistencies—some made consciously, others unconsciously—especially when surveys ask about topics that expose vulnerabilities.
For a more truthful, often more complicated point of view, seek out the spaces where complex emotions and internal conflicts are not barred but welcomed. For many, that’s Reddit. For others, it’s TikTok. Increasingly, this happens in the safe, contemplative confines of Substack.
The strategists here (hopefully) know how to do this. But everyone working on a campaign should learn the language of the space—and some empathy—before creative work is done.
Frida does this well. They talk about the physical, painful, sometimes gory side of new motherhood. In doing so, they talk about things moms actually need help with.
Put your oxygen mask on first
Bold campaigns get headlines. Corporate policy does not. But one without the other is just fluff.
Need proof? Look at the rise of employee-generated content; look at the Kyte Baby backlash. Today’s consumers care about what happens within your walls.
Bobbie can be brave with their marketing, and they’re just as brave with their people. Their parental leave policy is 12 months for both birthing and non-birthing employees.
If you want to make a statement, first ask, what standards are you setting internally?
Pick your battles wisely
Every brand book has a section titled, “What We Stand For.” Not every brand actually knows what they stand for. That can make meaningful work very difficult.
When you’re sharp on your values, you’re clear on where to focus. And that’s essential right now: It’s 2024. An election cycle. The hottest year on record. Countless social issues are weighing on various populations at all times. It’s tempting to fight for all of them, but brands need to be crystal clear on where they can weigh in.
Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s are the easy examples here. But I particularly love what Maude is doing. They’re taking a taboo topic—female pleasure—and firmly planting their flag in the ground in the halls of the Louvre. They sponsored an exhibit about privacy and intimacy, in which their products are on display alongside historic works of art. They’re normalizing what they sell while also acknowledging the topic’s existence throughout time.
Be ready for backlash—but don’t fear it
Not everyone is going to like what you have to say. Get comfortable with that. It’s a good thing.
I remember the controversies surrounding Thinx and Hims ads on the subways in New York City. “So vulgar,” people said, clutching their pearls. These brands were forgetting the safe imagery so often featured in their categories—jubilant smiles and salt-and-pepper couples—in favor of something real and relatable. Some balked, but they were never the target audience anyway. And now publications collate lists of Thinx dupes while Hims has successfully expanded into heart health and the booming business of GLP-1s.
Ignore the idea of ‘timelessness’
When I worked for an architecture firm, I learned a line that still sticks with me: “Ruination is the test of good architecture.” How the foundation holds up while age presents itself in cracks and crumbling stones—that’s how you know you’ve built something lasting.
If you’re a brand that wants to stand for something, I’d argue the opposite is true. Billie was the first brand to put body hair in their ads, but the imagery isn’t as shocking when, as New York magazine reports, “Bush is back.” And in a more wholesome example, I don’t think my 10-year-old niece could tell you what was shocking in that divisive Cheerios commercial.
Everyone loves to talk about the ads that stand the test of time. Is there not also merit in the ones that don’t?
Embrace unease
It’s good. It means you’re probably onto something.
Our job as marketers
Despite a growing hum of conversation about taboo topics on social media, they’re all too often obscured in mass media. People don’t want to talk about them, see them, discuss them, be reminded of them. They want them to be pushed down, glossed over, hidden from view and conversation.
That should be the opposite of what we do here. We should shine a light—make things not only visible but also hard to miss. Hard to ignore.
Let’s lean in and embrace the risk.
