Abstract

Winter of 2009 proved a lucrative season for cold and flu marketers. Little was known regarding the H1N1 flu virus, and news outlets warned consumers of lackluster guards against germs. Many businesses began to capitalize on this fear. Williams (2011) explained how hand sanitizers and disinfectant products raised 54% during this time. One such example is a commercial that ran on American television during the 2009 holiday season, which advertised Kleenex® brand tissues. This commercial portrayed a grown man, sick with a cold, going door to door searching for an idealized mother figure to care for him. In addition to these televised commercials, Kleenex® also developed an online ‘Get-Mommed’ campaign (www.getmommed.com), where users could choose between eight fictional nurturing mothers to care for them as they recover from a cold or flu virus. Among these fictional mothers were Latino mom, Ana Maria, who spoke of nothing but her enormous family; Asian mom, Sue, who scolded users for being late and acting like a child; Debutant mom, Magnolia, who declared herself as a true Southern girl; hippy mom, Amber, who believed in natural healing and motivating through kindness; the much younger blonde mom (most of the other mothers appeared as though they could realistically be parents to a middle-aged grown man), Jessica, who declared that she’s more of a friend than a mom; and Jewish mom, Phyllis, who enjoyed cooking, laundry and buying presents, “Because if you’re happy, than I’m happy”. Not much was similar between these mothers besides their insistence of using Kleenex® brand tissue products.

Key words: Feminine representations, online marketing, campaign analysis.