Monday
Sep052011
When a Company Goes from Good to Very, Very Bad: The Evenflo Story
Monday, September 5, 2011
A couple of years ago, I was asked to review the new Evenflo breast pump. I received the pump by mail, gave it a try, and wrote an honest review. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of good things to say about the pump. I did, however, have some good things to say about the company at the time. In the review, I noted that:
That, unfortunately, has all changed. It seems that several months ago, Evenflo decided that it cared more about selling bottles and pumps than it did about truly supporting breastfeeding. It decided to stop complying with the WHO's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. In other words, it is now just like every other bottle and formula manufacturer out there -- working hard to convince moms that breastfeeding is inconvenient, embarrassing and difficult.
I first noticed their new tactics when I saw a few people questioning @EvenfloBaby on twitter about tweets that made breastfeeding in public and in front of the in-laws seem...weird. Tweets like this one:
Forced to feed on-the-go? I don't know about you, but I was never forced to feed on-the-go. I loved the fact that I could breastfeed anytime, anywhere. In fact, I loved it so much and feel so strongly about it that I wrote 50 reasons for breastfeeding anytime, anywhere and Would You, Could You, Nurse in Public? and made my Covering Up is a Feminist Issue video. A tweet like the one from Evenflo isn't directly telling moms that breastfeeding in public is inappropriate, but it does insinuate that perhaps they should feel a bit uncomfortable about it.
But that wasn't it. Once I started looking at some more of Evenflo's tweets and clicking on some of the links, I found their videos. This company, which used to support breastfeeding moms and provide them with links to excellent breastfeeding support, now makes videos intended to make breastfeeding look difficult and to humourously position their products (be it a breast pump or a bottle) as the way to save the day.
Take a look at this one, with the critical mother-in-law and uncomfortable father-in-law. Instead of telling them to "F%&K Off" (or getting her spouse to do so -- after all, they are his parents!), she rushes to the back room to pump a bottle so that the in-laws can feed the baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_90lwKiqG7s&feature=relmfu
That is just one of several new videos intended to promote their breast pump and their bottles and make them seem more convenient and less embarrassing than just breastfeeding.
Do we really need companies like Evenflo to reinforce the myths about breastfeeding and make moms feel like it is uncomfortable or inconvenient? What if we lived in a world where we weren't taught to expect society (and our in-laws) to criticize us for feeding our babies?
Update: Evenflo apologizes several times and eventually gets it right.
There are a few things that I liked that are not specifically about the pump, but that I think are important and commendable:
- Last year, Evenflo became the first baby bottle manufacturer to become compliant with the World Health Organization’s International Code for the Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes
- There was a Breastfeeding information and support card included with the pump that had the URLs and phone numbers of some excellent resources for breastfeeding and breastfeeding at work. This is a departure from many bottle/formula manufacturers that tend to provide their own 1-800 number for not so great support.
That, unfortunately, has all changed. It seems that several months ago, Evenflo decided that it cared more about selling bottles and pumps than it did about truly supporting breastfeeding. It decided to stop complying with the WHO's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. In other words, it is now just like every other bottle and formula manufacturer out there -- working hard to convince moms that breastfeeding is inconvenient, embarrassing and difficult.
I first noticed their new tactics when I saw a few people questioning @EvenfloBaby on twitter about tweets that made breastfeeding in public and in front of the in-laws seem...weird. Tweets like this one:
Forced to feed on-the-go? I don't know about you, but I was never forced to feed on-the-go. I loved the fact that I could breastfeed anytime, anywhere. In fact, I loved it so much and feel so strongly about it that I wrote 50 reasons for breastfeeding anytime, anywhere and Would You, Could You, Nurse in Public? and made my Covering Up is a Feminist Issue video. A tweet like the one from Evenflo isn't directly telling moms that breastfeeding in public is inappropriate, but it does insinuate that perhaps they should feel a bit uncomfortable about it.
But that wasn't it. Once I started looking at some more of Evenflo's tweets and clicking on some of the links, I found their videos. This company, which used to support breastfeeding moms and provide them with links to excellent breastfeeding support, now makes videos intended to make breastfeeding look difficult and to humourously position their products (be it a breast pump or a bottle) as the way to save the day.
Take a look at this one, with the critical mother-in-law and uncomfortable father-in-law. Instead of telling them to "F%&K Off" (or getting her spouse to do so -- after all, they are his parents!), she rushes to the back room to pump a bottle so that the in-laws can feed the baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_90lwKiqG7s&feature=relmfu
That is just one of several new videos intended to promote their breast pump and their bottles and make them seem more convenient and less embarrassing than just breastfeeding.
Do we really need companies like Evenflo to reinforce the myths about breastfeeding and make moms feel like it is uncomfortable or inconvenient? What if we lived in a world where we weren't taught to expect society (and our in-laws) to criticize us for feeding our babies?
Update: Evenflo apologizes several times and eventually gets it right.
Reader Comments (185)
Thanks for sharing this! I always felt good about buying Evenflo bottles, now, not so much. I'll pass this on!
http://breastfedblog.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Breastfed: a breastfeeding blog for the modern mama.
Unbelievable. Horrible. Insensitive. Thoughtless. Bad move, Evenflo.
Ugh what gets me is the fact the parents allow the grandparents to act like that! I would never allow such disrespectful people in my home, I don't care who they are!
Thank you for the reminder, as I might not have paid as good attention if I needed to buy something other than a pump or bottles.
@sarah - I had the same reaction - Dude, stop pouring, you're wasting it!! Absolutely the most despicable piece of marketing I've ever had the misfortune to view.
I agree, I wouldn't stand for it either.
I don't normally comment, but that video really pisses me off. Breastfeeding mothers have enough criticism and struggles without a company that WAS breastfeeding friendly feeding them crap like everyone needs to feed the baby to bond with it. There are five thousand other ways to bond. And what the HELL was the point of him drinking the breastmilk? Why was that necessary. UGH. That makes me want to never by anything from evenflo again. I have an evenflo carseat. ICK.
Everyone pretty much summed up how I feel about this commercial - angry, frustrated, disgusted. And committed to adding Evenflo to my boycott list. I guess now the only pump I can recommend in good conscience is Hygeia....
http://www.iblce.org/news-from-the-board/code-public-comment
They are now "encouraged to uphold" (preamble of proposed code of professional conduct) as opposed to the current "must adhere to" (current code of etnics #24) - subtle but powerful difference!
Thank you for the info.
I am an obnoxious grandmother also. When my nursing daughter pulled out a bottle of water for her baby at a family gathering, I was at her in an instant. Why don't you just nurse her? She said "She likes water on a hot day." A little while later, she did nurse the baby, and I was content.
My own mother was perplexed and annoyed at first at the whole breastfeeding thing. She wasn't eager to feed the baby herself; she wasn't a particularly baby loving person. But she thought entirely too much of my time was taken up sitting there nursing the baby. Evidently she propped as soon as she could. Once, when I gave one of my earlier babies a bottle of juice, at maybe six or seven months old, and let the baby lie on a rug and drink it while I ate, she said "Now that's the way I like to see a baby!" She commented on how lucky I was in the disposition of my babies, and how this was unfair after I had been such a cranky baby. As she watched me and my sister nurse our babies, she finally declared herself a convert to breastfeeding, as all of our babies magically seemed to have good dispositions.
And to be incredibly healthy, too.
My father grew up watching his mother nurse not only his brother, but other women's babies as well, women who had necessary jobs during the depression, but not enough money for bottles and formula, so she nursed their babies while they were at work. So he had no problem with it. But my father in law was at our house when I was nursing, thinking nothing of it. He was taking pictures of the other kids, and I asked him to take a picture of the baby nursing. His response was "I don't shoot pornography." !!!! I looked at him in absolute astonishment, spluttered that it wasn't pornography, that was ridiculous, it was just a baby nursing, that's how babies get fed." He never changed his mind, and I never changed my behavior. Luckily, we didn't see them very much.
Women of the world, just nurse your babies, and don't let anyone's comments deter you in any way!
But this video is shameful. What ought to be the punishment for people who in order to make money, influence people's minds in a way that will deprive infants of breastmilk and loving contact with their mothers?
And breastmilk tastes sweet. I don't think anyone would make a face who tasted it, not knowing what it is. It reminds me of the nurses aide in the hospital where I had my first baby who told me "Babies don't like that yucky stuff." That face says "yucky" to me. Yes, everything in this video is calculated to reduce the number of women who breastfeed, and the comfort of those who do in nursing around others.
Fie on Evenflo!
Susan Peterson
At 1:44 pm CDT on 9/5/11 the video was not visible on the blog. Wasn't able to find it using appropriate search terms on youtube either.
So happy to have a wife who is willing and able to say "eff you" to anybody even hinting at trying to make her feel uncomfortable, and I'm proud to say I'm the kind of husband willing to do the same when it's more appropriate for it to come from me. Our son gets his milk wherever we happen to be.
Their electric breast-pump was a godsend (though not always completely comfortable) when my wife went back to work, though. I needed a supply at home for my paternity leave, and she needed relief for her tender bosums that would fill up during the day, and of course it helped to keep her supply up.
Guess my point is: shame on Evenflo for their marketing. But we can't bring ourselves to boycott their product. :-( Too important to our family equation.
This video is just low low low. And with in-laws acting like that, I would be up in my room all the time nursing the baby to get away from them instead of pacifying a woman on a power trip by abusing my breasts with a subpar product.
Jackie:
The video is still appearing for me. It is sometimes a bit slow to load. Here is the direct link to the video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/_90lwKiqG7s
Greg:
If you do need another breast pump in the future, I would recommend looking at another brand. My guess is that the Evenflo one won't last forever.
I love Hygeia pumps, but unfortunately they are not available in Canada yet. They are, however, going through the required approvals to get it on the market here.
There are people in my husband's family who feel this way - that other people (namely the baby's dad) miss out on not being able to feed a baby. My husband didn't give our daughter a bottle of pumped milk until she was 4 weeks old, and even then we only introduced an occasional bottle because we knew I'd be going back to work after a 10 week maternity leave. It was a special and fun experience for him to give her that first bottle but everything we were doing as first time parents was special! From a few comments we got, you'd think I was the most selfish person in the world to NOT be alternating with him on giving bottles of formula to this child!
My mother breastfed me past a year and not once did my parents ever ask if they could give a bottle. They did so several times when babysitting, but it wasn't a "just because" thing or for super special "bonding" purposes. They get it and some of my inlaws don't.
That Evenflo ad was so atrociously offensive I've decided I will never be purchasing an Evenflo product again. For everyone's information, Evenflo also sells car seats under their own brand as well as Snugli soft carriers (basically crotch danglers) and the very popular Exersaucers.
Wow! Thanks for sharing. Do you mind if I share your blog post with my class? -- the class is about communications, marketing, and social media.
Thanks,
Sara
OMG...Not only would I smack my spouse& kick him out directly if he ever didnt defend me to the IL's, but who takes a bottle out of a mom's hand and puts it in their coffee who does that?-, but I would tell that MIL to eff off in a heartbeat and kick her out as well!!! I have sadly had this same convo w/ my MIL who tried to tell H and me when our youngest was 2 weeks old that we should start giving her a bottle right away or else she would never take one, by a bottle meaning formula. It was fortunate that I never caved and allowed it b/c it turns out DD has a pretty nasty milk allergy-the only way we found out was b/c I was eating a lot of dairy & it landed her in the ER.
good for you guys! love your posts and your perspective - keep up the good work! fortunately, living in oregon gives me the freedom to breastfeed just about anywhere without much protest from passersby. i was just ridiculed at the local pediatric orthopedist's office however, about not being able to feed my baby a bottle to calm her down while she got her feet casted (twisted feet from in the womb). i offered to breastfeed her if they didn't mind working around me and my breasts, but the tech gave me an earful about "neglecting" to give her a bottle. grrrrrr.
km
Well, it is a for-profit company. They have to do what sells. We have this interesting notion in our society that companies should be moral entities, when publicly-traded companies are legally required to do whatever it takes to raise their market value. Why is everyone so surprised when doing what it takes to raise stock value is not in line with what morality would dictate? This is capitalism. Relying on companies to do what is in OUR best interest rather than THEIR best interest is naive. If complying with WHO codes nets them sales then that is what they will do; if NOT complying nets them more sales, then that is what they will do. End of story. If you want a company to comply with WHO codes when it does not profit them, then you have to require that by law and enforce with penalties i.e., regulation, and/or, we as consumers must only buy from those companies that abide by the WHO codes even if their products are more expensive. Because companies are NOT moral entities, and were never meant to be. They are vehicles for profit for shareholders. And society counts on them to be vehicles for profit, for the sake of our retirement plans, 529 plans and everything else that makes money via the stock market. Citizens of a capitalist society cannot be passive and hope that companies will just act in our best interest because we would like it that way. You have to make them do what you want, either through legislation or choosing where and on what to spend your money.
That video would be funny if it didn't make me want to yarf so much.
Have you seen some of their other videos? I just watched the one about "how to survive the 3am feedings" and it's so horrible, and so loaded with possibly dangerous myths (like feeding pumped milk while mom sleeps, so misses the feeding, and risks a lowered milk supple...). It's really sickening.
I'm guessing they were trying to pander to this sort of thing to get more sales, I wonder how they'll be feeling when they get the backlash from all of us who are offended and angry.
Sara:
Please go ahead.
See, even the "2%" bit got to me. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I'm pretty sure breastmilk is more than just 2% fat (should be equivalent to whole cow's milk which is at least 4%?) It feels like a jab at breastmilk being weak nutritionally. (and the way they did the slow-motion and the faces of everyone watching him take a drink, made it clear they also wanted to send the message of "eewwww breastmilk is GROSS!")
I know most breastfeeding mothers deal with invasive and disrespectful attitudes at some point or another, but using it as a marketing tool? This video was quite disappointing. I never used an EvenFlo myself, but I will not be promoting this company in my business until they make better marketing choices. Thanks for sharing.
PS- I like how they make a big deal about how she's "breastfeeding" at the beginning of the video, but THEY SHOWED THE BABY'S FACE! She's not even nursing the kid,. they're just sitting there!!! So they can't even make it *look* like she's actually nursing, instead they have to dance around it. Just... yikes.
Yes, I saw that one too and considered including it, but decided to try to keep things short and not muddy the message too much. There are lots of horrible ones in this series. I really want to know which ad agency came up with this stuff.
I don't think anyone is surprised necessarily (except maybe because this company seemed to think it made business sense to support breastfeeding). However, not being surprised doesn't mean we have to accept it either.
I think your last sentence is spot on and part of "making them do what you want" is educating consumers and voters about the problem. That is what I'm doing here.
Thank God that I won't have to worry about either of our families doing that to us when our baby comes! Both our moms nursed their babies, and therefore are very supportive of breastfeeding! If anyone did give me trouble, I would have no problem telling them off.
My extended family is another issue altogether. My mom has two sisters who think breastfeeding is gross, and always told her so whenever she nursed us. Whatever!
I got the same impression. They definitely tried to use humor to say breast milk is gross..
just showed it to my husband. I liked his comment, so I'll share: "slick and manipulative." thank you for posting this!
Thank you for pointing this out. There are so many other ways to sell pumps - Show a mom pumping at the office or for a date. My husband has fed my son pumped milk a small handful of times but really, the idea that he would give him a bottle while I am at home just seems ridiculous to me. I hate how we have to be distrustful of even the companies that sell breastfeeding products. Dislike.
I am just disgusted by this video and the terrible attitudes it perpetuates against breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is food, nurture, comfort and bonding-with-mom for the baby. And there are countless ways for others to bond with the baby: bath, changing, rocking, etc etc. Other people do not need to feed the baby to bond. Mom needs to be with the baby and bond, especially in the early weeks - this is key for the baby and the mom. I find it so sad and difficult when people say they 'want to help' when a baby is small by holding the baby - after 3 kids I can this is not help. If you want to help when there is a small baby, wash the dishes, clean the house, do the laundry, bake me a birth cake! Holding the baby without worrying about all those other things really helps out a mom, and when mom is ready she can hand off the baby, but in her own time!
And, as a pumping-at-work mom, I was horrified (HORRIFIED!) that the father-in-law drank the milk because, seriously!, expressing milk is hard work and takes time! I would have snatched that bottle out of his hand faster than lightning! Commandment #1 of feeding pumped milk: Do not waste a drop! sigh.
I know that some people think that they can help by giving a feeding at night, but that would disrupt the milk supply, especially as feeding between 1 am and 5 am, when prolactin is highest, is very important to keep up and increase supply. It is more helpful to help mom get to bed early, sleep in take naps.
And seriously, comfort the baby! don't let the baby cry cry cry; you don't need milk for that.
What the hell was with that video? That was just... weird.
That made my blood boil, partially because I have to deal with similar views from my mother and am finding it really hard to be firm and polite. I worry ads like this will just reinforce her bottle-preference.
Also - what is with pumping 4-5oz taking like 20seconds? Tv time I know but they don't even try to make it seem like time has past.
Someone should parody this but done right. Mum tells mil where to go and fil uses the milked stored in the fridge from previously only to be scolded by dad for using the milk baby will need while mum is at work that evening.
... And of course no one would find drinking breast milk gross - just be annoyed that fil was wasting the baby's supply.
Shame on you Evenflo. I think the main problem is that they got a new ad agency with people who know nothing about babies and children and their health and safety. They have also released several comercials for their carseats that have improperly installed seats and make it seem like it is a badthing to get help in car seat installation. I think they are more concerned with trying to make their comercials "funny" than informative or positive. Evenflo, you have cemented the fact that corporations olycareabout profits and not the health and welfare of the population your products are intended for.
This is such an unfortunate result of an ad agency shooting for humor and missing so many important marks on the way. They never should have approved this stuff. Ughhh.
Wow, that video is so awful it made my stomach turn.
I read "So That's What They're For!" when my son was 6 months old or so, and while I hated the book, I loved the story in it where a breastfeeding mom gave her upstairs neighbor a cup of breastmilk so he could have it for his professor's coffee -- and the professor raved about how good it was in the coffee. (Not knowing it was breastmilk, presumably.)
It does seem like it would be a presweetened kind of creamer, without being sugary.
First I read your blog post; I thought, why would they make an ad about pumping in order to let intrusive in-laws feel good? There are such more important and (hopefully) more common uses for a pump, like increasing your milk supply and providing food for your baby while working. Then I saw the pump in the video and I thought, maybe this is just honest advertising; a pump that crappy is probably useless for anything except placating obnoxious in-laws :)
[...] is PhD in Parenting’s take on it: When a Company Goes from Good to Very, Very Bad: The Evenflo Story Do we really need companies like Evenflo to reinforce the myths about breastfeeding and make moms [...]
My initial reaction to this was not anger at how obnoxious the commercial was (and it was REALLY horrid) but admiration at the mother's ability to get what looked like 5 ounces in less than 10 seconds. She must have the teats of a dairy cow to accomplish such a feat!
THEN I got pissed. I had people telling me the same things and I batted my eyelashes and said "that's nice, now give me the baby, he's hungry, no we don't have any formula so you can feed him. Would you like to change his diaper? that'd be a HUGE help"
Lisa, I'm so impressed with you for breastfeeding triplets! Way to go. I breastfed and supplemented with my twins (11 months with son before he self-weaned, 15 months with daughter) and it was almost impossible to leave the house during the first year due to their feeding regimen - I can totally relate. So kudos to you!
Shameful. I never used their products because I have never felt the need to... I fed my kids where ever, when ever, dirty looks be damned!
Thank you for sharing this information, Annie. I was following along with their tweets and wondered if they got a new PR person because they noticeably changed in tone. What I find truly disturbing is: considering the massive amount of money large companies invest in identifying their target consumers, that this campaign was the one that they decided would bring them the most business; talking down to parents, dehumanizing babies (I watched all of the videos, btw) encouraging attachment to things instead of connection to people, shaming and taking advantage of families who may not know about WHO compliance or know where to go for real breastfeeding support.
I haven't researched the changes that the company has made in its infrastructure or marketing, but those had to be some large dollar signs for them to turn their backs on mothers and babies.
I just got my similac breastfeeding (it specifically said BREASTFEEDING) free kit from the OB office for this time around. I told them I would throw it out when I got home... inside... bottles in a cooler bag, free formula, formula coupons, a crappy booklet about breastfeeding and two disposable pads. I am appalled yet again. Also I loved that BF allowed me a reason to hide from my in laws. It was the only thing keeping me from going all mama bear on them. Seriously.... it would be me, our baby and my husband all hiding in the nursery from them (he would pretend I asked for something and couldn't hear me and come in). Stuff like that tweet were why I was TERRIFIED of BF in public for months. My Mom's favorite story was how I thought I found a secluded spot at the bronx zoo and it turned out to be the TRAM STOP and all these people were getting off. After that I kind of got over it.
Thanks for writing about this. Here is what I posted on Evenflo's Facebook page
Please add my name to the list of breastfeeding mothers who are incredibly offended by your video. While breastfeeding is now recognized as best for baby, it is still not an easy choice and women are unfairly judged and made to feel unwelcome while nursing in public spaces and even in their own homes. Evenflo's advertising tactics reinforces the outdated message that we should be ashamed of breastfeeding and that nursing an infant in front of people is a social blunder and so we should use their product to pump instead. Evenflo is exploiting the fact that many women still don't feel comfortable breastfeeding in public or in front of friends and relatives in their own homes. Rather than empowering women and normalizing breastfeeding, they are reinforcing stereotypes and women's insecurities about breatfeeding all to sell bottles and breast pumps. This is outrageous and unethical behavior. I sincerely hope that you will review your advertising practices immediately.
They are accepting public comments on this change until the 7th - I would encourage all stakeholders to make a point of letting the IBCLE know that it is NOT acceptable that IBCLCs are not held to the *minimum* standard of protecting mothers and babies by following the WHO Code.