The Ministry of Health in New Zealand has just launched a new ad campaign to promote breastfeeding and normalize breastfeeding in public. The campaign will consist of posters placed on buses, ads in women’s and parenting magazines, in malls and on screens in warehouse stores. According to the press release, the campaign was created with friends and family of breastfeeding moms in mind, who often can influence whether or not a woman breastfeeds and for how long.
"Although New Zealand has breastfeeding rates that are consistent with other OECD countries, rates are low at six weeks, especially among Māori and Pacific women,” said Ministry of Health Deputy Director Margie Apa. She went on to say that barriers to breastfeeding, including “lack of breastfeeding support and information, mothers returning to paid work and finding it hard to continue breastfeeding, and negative attitudes to breastfeeding from the general public and family members” tend to more adversely affect minorities, teenage parents and low-income moms.
The pictures used in the campaign are absolutely beautiful and props to New Zealand for their concerted effort to include minority women in the ads. What makes these ads so powerful and extraordinary is that they're so mundane. They are simply photographs of women going about their daily lives, breastfeeding in the library, on the bus and at the airport.
The text on the bottom of the ads reads, "Wherever they're heading, a healthy start in life will help them get there. In the community and in the workplace, breastfeeding is natural. Perfectly natural. For information, please visit breastfeeding.org.nz."
The US could learn a lot from this ad campaign. Remember the disastrous campaign created by the Ad Council in 2005? First there were these images:
Dandelions? Ice cream? An ad campaign to promote breastfeeding and not a mom or baby to be found? That was quite the head scratcher. (Not to mention the fact that the formula companies lobbied to get the actual messages on the ads watered down before they even debuted). Then there was this TV ad that many women found downright insulting.
Compare those ads to the ones in New Zealand and you can see how far we have to go in this country. We need to fight those "booby traps" that keep moms from breastfeeding or meeting their breastfeeding goals and focus on making breastfeeding the cultural norm, the natural extension of pregnancy and childbirth. These ads are a huge step in the right direction to help normalize breastfeeding, particularly in public. Anyone in marketing in New Zealand looking for a job?
Never want to miss an update of the Blacktating Blog? Subscribe here.
Twitter me- I'm blacktating
9 comments:
I love the New Zealand Campaign. You are right about the comparison with the older US ads.. makes the US look ridiculous.
Yes, they really do. I love that the moms are nursing, NO NURSING COVERS TO BE FOUND, yet they look comfortable, relaxed and aren't revealing any body parts. I don't have any problems with seeing a peek of breast or tummy while a mom is nursing, but these ads show that you can be "discreet" (hate that word!) without any silly aprons or giant hats.
Hot Milk LIngerie is also from NZ and is *very* breastfeeding friendly. They make lingerie for pregnant and nursing moms. I think it's gorgeous! Anyway, I just watched an ad on their site yesterday and it's pretty cool for normalizing sexiness of the pregnant woman, another thing society has issue with. I love that NZ is really taking a stance on breaking down breastfeeding barriers. Way to go Kiwis!
hi,,,i read your post and it is good because all mommies are breastfeed her babies..
_______________________
Elizabeth Wilcox
Awesome, thanks for the compliments. We're thrilled with how the campaign has been going. And our social media side has also grown tremendously. Next stop - photo competition - watch it on www.facebook.com/breastfeedingnz
Tim (the Breastfeeding NZ campaign's token male)
it is a wonderful NZ campaign, showing that b/f is completely normal and thats how it should be. :-)
I moved from the US to NZ last year, and had my first baby here in May. The breastfeeding support I've received here is fantastic...I mean, daily visits from the midwife for 5 days after the birth to help, incl a 10pm call-out for a breast massage to deal with engorgement? All for free, incl in the free maternity care? I could go on...
Anyway, I love the campaign, and what's best I've actually seen the posters at bus stops and in the mall, not just hidden on some billboard in an alley somewhere.
I'm from NZ and you know what struck me about these posts? I don't know what a 'nursing cover' is. I don't think we have such a product? Between my two children I breastfed them for 4.5 years in all sorts of place, malls, movies, cafes, ferries... even while walking around buying my groceries and while getting my drivers licence photo taken (face only :) My favourite thing about the NZ campain is that there are some older children being fed.
Tim, thank you so much for stopping by. You guys should give yourselves a BIG pat on the back for a job well done. Looking forward to the photo contest, too!
Cat, no nursing covers in NZ? Really? Here women buy all sorts of crazy contraptions meant to hide the fact that they're breastfeeding that only call more attention to the fact that they're breastfeeding.
Post a Comment