Children and sexual innuendos should never exist in the same space.
So you can imagine how shocking it was to see a baby brand center its marketing around sexual messages.
CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn founded Frida in 2014 after discovering the Swedish nasal aspirator, then brought the company to the U.S. to expand its market. The brand sells an assortment of health and wellness products for babies like cold and flu medicine, hygiene
accessories, colic relief and postpartum recovery kits for moms.
Frida has often marketed itself as the brand that says what others won’t about motherhood. That tone has probably resonated well with women who appreciate honesty — but there’s a difference between being blunt about bodily functions and using sexual innuendos to sell products designed for infant use.
The first post that came across my feed featured the packaging of a touchless thermometer, which read, “How about a quickie?” My initial response was something along the lines of “Oh, this is really weird.” After realizing it was only a thermometer, I began to wonder how this product warranted such a phrase on its box.
Then I dug deeper.
Frida posted an Instagram Reel highlighting yet another thermometer — this one for rectal use. The caption said, “This is the closest
your husband’s gonna get to a threesome…” Absolutely disgusting for a baby brand to be promoting in what’s supposed to be a safe
space for mothers and children. This post has since been deleted, but why was it approved in the first place?
First off, deleting a post without acknowledging a situation or addressing consumer concerns is one of the first rules of public relations and marketing. Transparency is critical to a brand’s reputation — you simply cannot choose to go silent when your brand integrity is questioned.
As a communications and marketing intern, I understand that some brands may sensationalize or put quirky phrases on their packaging to increase engagement. It’s the shock value that brings people in and gets them talking. This, however, is something no brand should utilize — ever.
The current marketing team includes Director of Packaging Brian Byrd, Vice President of Marketing Strategy Adam Gagliardo and Package Design Production Manager Aaron Camello. All men. Coincidence? I think not.
It’s been rumored that the brand has also been hiding comments that call out this messaging on their social media or blocking
accounts. It appears that they’re avoiding taking responsibility for such a disturbing marketing campaign.
I’m a college student right now, but when I consider my future, I’m almost afraid to bring a child into this world. Moms purchase products for their children with intention— whether it’s the quality of the products themselves or the company’s values. Likewise, marketing is also done with intention. This situation with Frida was clearly deliberate and the brand just alienated the very audience it relies on.
What makes this even more troubling is the fact that there are ongoing conversations about what we, as a society, can do to keep children safe. Yet here is a company that is profiting directly from babies and new mothers, leaning into a language that sexualizes necessary, routine childcare.
A thermometer is a healthcare tool. Turning it into a punchline of a nauseating sexual joke makes its purpose incredibly unserious.
New mothers are overwhelmed, exhausted and vulnerable. They rely on brands that provide clarity and trust, but when a company
inserts crude jokes into this space, it chips away at that trust.
Humor can absolutely be a part of modern branding, especially in parenting where the reality of messiness and smelly babies
resonates. But there is a line between relatable and reckless. Frida definitely crossed that line.
If the goal for Frida was to appear edgy or disrupt the apparently “sterile” tone of baby product packaging, there were countless other ways to do it. Ways that don’t involve your husband and child in a threesome.
Creativity doesn’t require brands to be controversial. When they normalize inappropriate messaging, they contribute to a landscape where children seem unsafe.
There should never be an instance where sexualizing children is acceptable — it’s a sickening reflection of the society we live in.
If you don’t see a problem with this, then you are the problem.
