Let's Discuss
This Frida Mom Ad Was Banned From The Oscars
ABC and The Oscars rejected an ad created by the brand Frida Mom from being aired during the broadcast of Sunday night's Academy Awards. The ad, which shows a very realistic scene of a postpartum mother going through her care routine with her baby crying in the background, was intended to provide an honest portrayal of an experience that women are often unprepared for. Here, Frida Mom founder Chelsea Hirschhorn speaks out on how she felt when the ad was rejected, the response she has received since and why the message is so important.
- Interview By
- Liz McDaniel
What was Frida Mom originally aiming to do when creating the ad?
We launched Frida Mom to prepare women for the physical transformation that coincides with a delicate physical transition into motherhood. Our products help women navigate the otherwise daunting postpartum recovery process. In service of that mission, we created a raw and honest portrayal of what women can expect to experience—because knowledge is confidence, and a confident mother is a better, happier mother.
This wasn't the first time your brand's attempt at advertising was thwarted. At launch, a billboard for an upside down water sprayer called the "Mommy washer" with the tagline "Your vagina will thank you" was rejected by 13 cities. Does this feel similar? Were these challenges you expected to face when starting the business? And why do you think these issues are still so taboo?
It does feel similar, but it has been over a year since our billboards were rejected. Since then, we’ve launched the Frida Mom brand and have given the postpartum conversation a true platform. While this latest rejection feels like a small step backward from a channel that has the audience and reach to meaningfully further this progress, we remain undeterred, and will use whatever channels remain available to us. In the past few days, I’ve experienced first-hand how our community has evangelized around our message. Among the women who engage with our brand, these issues are not taboo. It's the antiquated policies espoused by the companies and organizations that control what gets shown and what doesn’t that feel taboo. They’re outdated and no longer reflect the candor people want from brands like ours.
Were you surprised when it was rejected? How was this communicated to you?
Initially, yes. We had made so much progress in advancing the conversation around postpartum recovery and women’s health, generally, when we launched last summer. The spirit of the Oscars is to recognize storytelling at the highest level, and so we assumed that the raw authenticity and emotion that has so clearly mobilized a significant base of support would be compelling enough to warrant distribution to this audience. Were we surprised it was ultimately flagged? Not really. It’s the unfortunate reality of the filtered world we live in. However, when the rejection was communicated via e-mail, we began to explore alternative tactics to amplify the message.
Can you share the language used in that email?
“I vetted the spot through and the response was that this creative is too graphic with partial nudity and product demonstration, so we would not be able to accept this creative - - and specifically, the Academy sets guidelines that also prohibits the following: Please note the following AMPAS guidelines: Advertisement of the following is not permitted: Political candidates/positions, religious or faith-based message/position, guns, gun shows, ammunition, feminine hygiene products, adult diapers, condoms or hemorrhoid remedies.”
A source for ABC told CNN that the ad was submitted one week before the Oscars and Frida Mom was asked to make some edits and never responded. Can you comment on what these edits were and why you chose not to make them?
Our ad was submitted through our media agency - who shared with us the rejection from ABC and the policies from the Oscars. In a reply from ABC, we were asked if we had “another product” or “kinder, gentler creative.” But what could be more kind and gentle than taking care of a newborn while also trying to heal your own body? The mission of Frida Mom is to demystify the raw realities of the postpartum experience for women - and sometimes that means being more real and honest than people may be accustomed to seeing. Editing or watering down our ad to be more “kind and gentle” would be in direct conflict with our mission, and so wasn’t an option.
And what has the response been like since sharing the ad via other channels?
The response has been amazing. We’ve mobilized a broader base of passionate brand evangelists than we could have ever imagined. We’ve had a seismic impact that has garnered support not only from moms across the globe, but from medical professionals in the obstetrics and gynecologic field, our retail partners like Target, Walgreens and CVS, celebrity brand ambassadors with no vested financial interest, and of course our Frida Fans—all of whom are committed to using their platforms, regardless of how big or small, to further our mission. That being said, this rejection is a welcome reminder that we still have a long way to go, and the way the brand and our community has been fueled by this rejection is something we will harness and use to continue to overcome these types of hurdles.
We launched Frida Mom to prepare women for the physical transformation that coincides with a delicate physical transition into motherhood. Our products help women navigate the otherwise daunting postpartum recovery process. In service of that mission, we created a raw and honest portrayal of what women can expect to experience—because knowledge is confidence, and a confident mother is a better, happier mother.
This wasn't the first time your brand's attempt at advertising was thwarted. At launch, a billboard for an upside down water sprayer called the "Mommy washer" with the tagline "Your vagina will thank you" was rejected by 13 cities. Does this feel similar? Were these challenges you expected to face when starting the business? And why do you think these issues are still so taboo?
It does feel similar, but it has been over a year since our billboards were rejected. Since then, we’ve launched the Frida Mom brand and have given the postpartum conversation a true platform. While this latest rejection feels like a small step backward from a channel that has the audience and reach to meaningfully further this progress, we remain undeterred, and will use whatever channels remain available to us. In the past few days, I’ve experienced first-hand how our community has evangelized around our message. Among the women who engage with our brand, these issues are not taboo. It's the antiquated policies espoused by the companies and organizations that control what gets shown and what doesn’t that feel taboo. They’re outdated and no longer reflect the candor people want from brands like ours.
Were you surprised when it was rejected? How was this communicated to you?
Initially, yes. We had made so much progress in advancing the conversation around postpartum recovery and women’s health, generally, when we launched last summer. The spirit of the Oscars is to recognize storytelling at the highest level, and so we assumed that the raw authenticity and emotion that has so clearly mobilized a significant base of support would be compelling enough to warrant distribution to this audience. Were we surprised it was ultimately flagged? Not really. It’s the unfortunate reality of the filtered world we live in. However, when the rejection was communicated via e-mail, we began to explore alternative tactics to amplify the message.
Can you share the language used in that email?
“I vetted the spot through and the response was that this creative is too graphic with partial nudity and product demonstration, so we would not be able to accept this creative - - and specifically, the Academy sets guidelines that also prohibits the following: Please note the following AMPAS guidelines: Advertisement of the following is not permitted: Political candidates/positions, religious or faith-based message/position, guns, gun shows, ammunition, feminine hygiene products, adult diapers, condoms or hemorrhoid remedies.”
A source for ABC told CNN that the ad was submitted one week before the Oscars and Frida Mom was asked to make some edits and never responded. Can you comment on what these edits were and why you chose not to make them?
Our ad was submitted through our media agency - who shared with us the rejection from ABC and the policies from the Oscars. In a reply from ABC, we were asked if we had “another product” or “kinder, gentler creative.” But what could be more kind and gentle than taking care of a newborn while also trying to heal your own body? The mission of Frida Mom is to demystify the raw realities of the postpartum experience for women - and sometimes that means being more real and honest than people may be accustomed to seeing. Editing or watering down our ad to be more “kind and gentle” would be in direct conflict with our mission, and so wasn’t an option.
And what has the response been like since sharing the ad via other channels?
The response has been amazing. We’ve mobilized a broader base of passionate brand evangelists than we could have ever imagined. We’ve had a seismic impact that has garnered support not only from moms across the globe, but from medical professionals in the obstetrics and gynecologic field, our retail partners like Target, Walgreens and CVS, celebrity brand ambassadors with no vested financial interest, and of course our Frida Fans—all of whom are committed to using their platforms, regardless of how big or small, to further our mission. That being said, this rejection is a welcome reminder that we still have a long way to go, and the way the brand and our community has been fueled by this rejection is something we will harness and use to continue to overcome these types of hurdles.