How did this one ever get the green light?
In a move that’s making a serious run for “most preventable crisis of the year,” Clorox published an article on its Facebook page late last month that degraded the parenting skills of men in just about every way possible.
Be prepared to be offended as you read over these quotes from the since-deleted piece, and if you’d like the full article, Parents.com has it archived, here (Editor’s note: The cached page linked here has since been removed.)
Saying ‘No-no’ is not just for baby. Like dogs or other house pets, new Dads are filled with good intentions but lacking the judgment and fine motor skills to execute well.
And that’s just from the intro! Check out these “dangerous no-nos new Dads might make”:
Forgetting weather gear: About 10 minutes into a cold, brisk, rain-soaked stroller walk he might ask himself ‘why is this baby crying so much?’ Then, he might notice the short-sleeved summer onesie Li’l Peach is dressed in and it might dawn on him to bundle that baby.
Inappropriate screen time: Does an infant really need to watch reality shows? For that matter, does anyone? Prudence won’t stop Daddy from relaxing with a brew and blaring inappropriate shows while baby stares in horror/awe/wonder at the colorful moving yell-box. Tell Dad to embrace parental sacrifice and crack a book.
Casino: Some new dads have been inspired by raunchy comedies to bring babies to inappropriate places like casinos, pool halls, and poetry readings. None of these places are healthy for baby. If Dad needs persuading, just tell him that babies are terrible tippers and can never make bank shots.
Blow a gasket yet? (Wait, did he say poetry readings? Err…anyways…) A whole lot of Clorox’s stakeholders sure did! Men and women alike immediately descended on the brand’s Facebook page to voice their displeasure, and Clorox responded by deleting the post altogether, perhaps the only smart decision it’s made in this situation.
Removing the post didn’t cool the discussion off, however, and after being bombarded by hordes of dad bloggers and furious consumers, Clorox published the following attempt at crisis management:
As you may have seen we recently removed a website article, “New Dads”, that was a part of a series of humor pieces on modern parenting. It was never our intention to diminish the important role of dads. The dad who wrote the piece for us actually was trying to poke fun at the caricature of “the hapless dad.” To some of you it didn’t come across that way and we apologize. We’ve been talking with many of you throughout the day and appreciate the feedback.
Let’s see…lacking any attempt at compassion, check. Insulting our intelligence further by trying to say the article was “poking fun at a caricature” when it very clearly wasn’t, check. Of course, going with some Clorox logic, maybe this atrocious apology was just meant to poke fun at a remarkably inept PR team…
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/