The day that my son was born, I could not imagine my life without him.

As a mother, it is in my instinct to give him all the opportunities life has to offer and protect him whenever possible.However, as much as I don’t want to think about it, I know that I will not be able to do so forever, as children eventually go on to pursue their own paths in life as they are supposed to do.

Sometimes those paths lead them into wars and conflicts to fight, so that we can continue to rise and sleep under a blanket of freedom. And while their children may be across the globe, these mothers, just like their children, live in uncertainty and worry as to what each day may bring.

This Memorial Day weekend, as we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, let us also remember the military mothers and fathers, who helped make their children the strong individuals they became. Let us especially remember the parents have who have lost their sons and daughters, so that we may continue to enjoy the freedoms their children have so nobely have gifted to us.

Kleenex’s current campaign of “Get Mommed”, while one of their most creative campaigns in recently history, is also one of the worst marketing tactics they have attempted.

First off, the “Get Mommed” tagline sounds negative…the phrase “Get Mugged” goes through my head whenever I hear”Get Mommed”.

For those that don’t know about this campaign, let me give you some background.

Kleenex has taken and developed 8 stereotypical “Moms”. We, the consumers, then can go online and take a quiz to find out which of their “Moms” fits us the best.

The idea behind this is logical. When we are sick – we want to have the luxury of having our mom to take care of us, the correlation between mom taking care of us and Kleenex’s “taking care of us” is a cute analogy.

The problem is…who are they trying to target?

Other moms? That doesn’t quite make sense..

Most likely they are trying to reach out to younger consumers, who may be out on their own and missing the comforts of home. Moreover, if you take the quiz, it is definately a very female focus. Will this campaign cause them a huge loss of dollars? Granted, they may see some of its return as these young individuals develop brand allegiance early on. But studies have shown that the brand loyalty of the youngs consumer is sketchy as best.

In the meantime, with Kleenex’s focus off of core clients, real moms, will there core demographics go elsewhere? Possibly to generic brands or the 5-letter P-word the Kleenex manufacturers do not speak of? Maybe… and it’s a risk that they are apparently willing to take.

The lesson here…

Its okay to try to go after sub-target markets with fancy marketing tricks. But don’t let your core consumers disappear in the process.

As this year’s cold and flu season is coming to an end, I encourage the creative team at Kleenex’s agency, to get back to basics and instead of “momming” the consumers, how about going after the real moms who are your consumers.

Hopefully they will have enough time to get something together before hayfever season begins…

If this article has you curious to find your ideal “Mom Match” click here