Advertising fail: prams

I had to laugh when I was flicking through some parenting mags recently because these pram ads caught my attention for all the wrong reasons.

Great pram, bad parents

Could these parents be any less engaged with their baby? Not only is the bub facing away from them but Mum and Dad are looking in the other direction AND drinking cocktails. If I had to give this pram a tag line it would be "for the parents who wish they weren't".

Maybe we are meant to believe that this pram is so good it takes care of the baby, leaving you to get hammered and stare vacantly at the sunset. On second thoughts, maybe this is a good advertisement after all!

Thanks Mum, but I'd rather walk

Is it not a little bit weird to advertise a pram and not have the child actually use it? Trust me when I say that nothing sucks more than holding your baby while pushing an empty pram. It would be even worse on a very windy day like depicted above.

I also find it odd that 'British' is listed as a unique selling point, especially considering I saw the ad in an Australian magazine and the models are very clearly in San Francisco. Hmmmm.

So high tech it's invisible!

Parents? Check. Kids? Check. Pram? Oh wait....

Now that I've been paying attention to pram ads it seems that for some reason (known only to clever marketing types) showing parents pushing an empty stroller is a common theme. Here McLaren decides to go one step further - it has removed the pram altogether!

The family does seem to be looking at something with interest though, are we to believe they are staring at their mega awesome pram that is so awesome that it can't be shown? Maybe it's performing cartwheels while washing the dishes. Maybe there's a baby in it doing something really cute. The point is that we don't know BECAUSE WE CAN'T SEE IT!

By the way, what is with the dad's haircut? Mum looks every bit the modern, casual glam gal about town but dad looks like he wandered in off the set of That 70s Show.

Baby, I'm yours

Just when I started to doubt myself, wondering if there was something wrong with me for not understanding the ads, I came across this one by Stokke which for me actually works.



Not only does it show the pram, it also - shock horror - shows a child actually sitting in the pram, and liking it! And it has a parent who creates the impression of enjoying time with their baby. Even though it looks totally inappropriate for the Australian environment this ad makes we want this pram. See, advertising can work!

Have you come across any strange ads targeting parents? Tell me I'm not the only one and share your finds below.

-- Natalie