Down with Disney--A Mommy Class Action Suit

Although I must confess that The Winnie-the-Pooh Disney video truly saved our marriage by sucking our toddler’s full attention for a good 45 minutes...and allowing us JUST enough time to “re-connect“ on the weekends....Disney, now, is not welcomed in our house.

We were talking over dinner the other night—the child, the husband and I, and the child mentioned that the Disney movies always seem to be absent a mother—she is either dead or missing or killed early on. And she is almost always replaced by a mean, wicked stepmother.

I said—I think it is is because they are following the old fairy tales—Cinderella, Snow White etc.

But then child said...”What about Finding Nemo where the mother is offed in the first few minutes? What about that?”

Good Point...

She said she thought it was time for a mommy lawsuit against Disney. I think so too. How many more movies are we willing to accept with this free and easy killing off of mothers?

Mothers of the Internet Unite! You have nothing to lose but that glorious 45 minutes of undisturbed time.


Winnie-the-Pooh looking for a mother

Working Moms' Favorite Sites REVEALED!

So...after a rather painstaking process—the results of my totally non-scientific survey are in. 45 of my closest mom friends have spoken...

Just a note on the survey sample: Most of my mom friends work and those who do not “work” are NOT what I would refer to as the classic stay-at-home moms—in fact they are less likely to be at home than most of us because of their other "outside" interests that take them to L.A. or Tibet...

So what are the Working Moms of the somewhat affluent suburbs (this marketing opportunity sweet-spot so to speak) viewing on the the web?

NOT MOMMY BLOGS!

Now...I know it is a big surprise, but it is true.

What sites are they visiting over and over again like the pathetic addicts that they are?
Tripadvisor.com and Travelzoo.com

Tripadvisor is the one site that came up more than any other followed by Travelzoo....moms are not looking for recipes, not looking for parenting advice (please we get enough from in-laws and even strangers on the street), nor sales.

We are looking for adventure!



It is so true...I know EXACTLY what hotel in Rome I would love to reserve and I know what hotel in Rome we can afford to reserve. Barcelona, Florence, Paris—the trips are completely planned...in my head. If the child did not have a mouth full of braces and a math tutor—we would be in Buenos Aires this week at the Hotel Babel.

Tripadvisor and Travelzoo take note—Start a mommy blog about travel.

News Flash--Moms are too Busy & Men have Time to Burn

“Female iPhone Users More Likely to Tune Out Mobile Advertising” reports Ad Age...as though it is a huge surprise.

Although I don’t believe it is a news flash to any mom, but apparently for the advertisers is was an epiphany.
Moms are “less engaged with mobile web advertising” and tend to focus on getting tasks done instead. duh.

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=139673

The other big surprise revealed in the article, which, for anyone who has a husband or who works in an office with men is not ground shaking news—Men are much more engage with mobile web advertising than women. Probably because their time is freed-up while the women do all those daily tasks....


Of course this all leads up to the controversial, yet popular, PepsiCo's sponsored app "Amp Up Before You Score" for the iPhone. An app to help men be less dopey when trying to pick-up women by feeding the dopes pick-up lines to use with different types of women—I personally think of it as a public service. I think every woman regardless of age remembers painful pick-up lines...surely this app can only help.
The only problem, of course, is that the developers just went a little too “guy,” Rather than coming off as an app to enhance first impression, it was marketed in the most base way...as a way “TO SCORE.” But what can I say—Men are dopey....and the ad people know it. The ad people just forget that EVERYONE sees the app—it is not written on the men’s locker room wall.

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2009/10/14/Pepsis-iPhone-App-Offering-Dating-Advice-To-Men-Causes-Controversy.aspx

Study: Stay-at-home moms dominate social media

Study: Stay-at-home moms dominate social media

Well...not a complete surprise. It is not like all of the working moms were wondering who had time to do those coupon searches and thrifty recipes and now we know.

The working moms will do what we do best--come home and have a glass of wine.

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Letterman is More than a Pig and Why Moms Should Care

There is nothing like a 62 year old married male boss getting sex from his twenty something intern to turn me all “Fox News”. Although normally I am pretty much be and let be as far as sex, but this is NOT about sex. I cannot imagine what maze of rationalizations Letterman had to wind his mind through to even THINK it was okay to get his groove on with someone who works FOR him. Not with him, but for him.

I work at an Ivy League school and not that long ago a male professor dating a female student was considered normal and now it is completely taboo--as it should be. “OH…you are too busy to date me—perhaps a “F” on your lab paper will change your mind?” Please…how long did it take the old white men at the university to realize that the party was OVER. I will tell you--It took a LONG time.

A mom friend, who does not even own a TV because she is so organic and back to nature, stopped our conversation short to talk about David Letterman, At first I thought—David Letterman is such an asshole on his show to begin with why should I even care about his personal life. However, as she talked…I realized—it was not his personal life that disgusted me—it was his professional life. Yet Ms. All-Natural seemed mostly upset about his infidelity, not about his morally pathetic actions of screwing someone who worked under him, who he had some degree of power over.

I am SO in my Fox Mood Moment I just have to say what REALLY bothers me are the conversations about Letterman. What I have heard and read have been about his poor wife or the blackmail or why are all men pigs NOT about the abuse of power over a young woman...which I think what moms should care about. It is, what my favorite sex-ed teacher calls—a teachable moment. Bring it up with your daughters—there are men in the world who will use their position of power to get you into bed. It is not love, it is not even passion—is just power.

Do You Want a Coupon with that Sarcasm?

After some research I have found there are basically two types of mommy Blogs and then, of course, the various hybrids. There are the sarcastic blogs that chronicle the life and times of regular moms and then there are the thrifty moms…the moms with tips on how to clip and use coupons. I think this basically all comes back to the two types of moms—those who work outside the home and those who work in the home.

Here is the link from the scholastic press contest:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogcontest/

The top 3 of the 5 listed are the day-in-a-life type of blog—funny, thought provoking —they have advertisers, but no product reviews, no tips for saving, no coupons to clip. The last two are all about working in the home and I mean REALLY working. Strategies for saving, for making the home look beautiful for less… Have you ever seen that commercial about the woman who has a dirty carpet in her foyer that she refuses to let a friend in from the rain because she is too embarrassed? These blogs are where these “fear” commercials should be playing because if your worst fear is dirty carpet don’t come a knockin’ at my door…I will let you in…messy floor and all. Thank god for our slate floors—you cannot tell they are dirty until your shoes stick to them.