Breastmilk Storage Bags – Modelled By Men






Conceived and executed by Monday, an ad agency based in Bangkok, Thailand, this ad campaign jumps on the male breastfeeding bandwagon ignited earlier in the year by that guy who got shunned by La Leche League. The ads depict various men from across the generations lovingly nursing babies. From ‘grandpa’ to ‘brother’ (these are the labels given to the respective ads), it appears that men do want to lend a helping hand (or in this case, breast).

However WTF has this got to do with the product? The ads are trying to sell the ‘Nanny Breast Milk Storage Bag’, yet the men are feeding the babies directly from their breasts, and as they aren’t using supplemental feeding devices, this campaign makes no sense. On first glance.

Consider the target audience – pumping mothers - and the rationale behind the ads starts to fall into place. It would appear that the aim is to equate the act of nursing with the act of giving expressed breastmilk (i.e. giving breastmilk via the bottle is on par with giving it via the breast). So by expressing your milk and storing it in these freezer bags, your husband/dad/brother can then ‘breastfeed’ for you. Yes my friends, with the help of the Nanny Breast Milk Storage Bag, your baby can get all the goodness of breast milk from Daddy. Bless. However I’ve got two issues with this ad campaign. Firstly, bottle and breast are not equals, even if they both contain breast milk. There are less advantages to bottled breastmilk than breastmilk straight from the source. Secondly, the ads tap into the tired-old assumption, that in order for men to bond with their babies, they must feed them.

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