Tropicana helps parents find a moment of brightness with the classic Mimosa. Let me break this down for you. They are actually promoting that parents should #TakeAMiMoment in the closet, in the basement, and even in the bathroom.
Busy parents need a break, right? I mean, it’s been a year. Homeschool, remote school. I get it. Really, I do. And, orange juice is an essential ingredient for mimosas. Enter the brilliant creative agency (I’m assuming) who was hired to create this campaign. I can imagine the pitch now…
“What could be better then hidden mini-fridges that look like bathroom cabinets, hampers or tool carts? Parents can stash what they need to make a quick drink with supplies like orange juice and champagne. Oh to be a fly on the juice wall of that zoom room when they decided this was the million dollar idea.
Read that again
The brand created HIDDEN MINI-FRIDGES that look like bathroom cabinets, hampers or toll carts so parents can secretly get their drink on when the kids aren’t looking.
Tropicana, if you are reading this, let me give you some unsolicited advice. Fire your creative agency and pull this campaign immediately. You are completely tone-deaf to what is going on in the world. Your juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Let me get this straight
We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Not only that, we are in the middle of possibly the largest mental health crisis we have ever known in my lifetime. Suicide rates are skyrocketing, addiction is taking hold in homes across the country. Millions have lost jobs, loved ones, are out of work, and are suffering from major financial and food insecurities. And Tropicana wants to promote and even encourage parents to secretly drink in the bathroom out of a hidden mini-fridge? Not only that, they want you to promote that shit on social media with their hashtag #TakeAMiMoment
What in the actual (fill in the blank)
As a recovered alcoholic (Sobriety date 5.01.06) and a single mother, I am outraged. Do you even have any idea how many years I spent hiding booze in places around my home and secretly taking drinks when I thought my son wasn’t looking? And you want to turn that into an ad campaign? What in the actual (fill in the blank) is wrong with you?
Listen, I make my livelihood in advertising. I’ve been in media for nearly 25 years. (And I spent over a decade of that time in a perpetual blackout) This campaign is playing with fire and is incredibly irresponsible marketing.
Yes, I have tired of the big alcohol and beer campaigns that glamourize drinking. But I get it, they are trying to sell their products and so long as they slap a “Drink responsibly” tag at the end of the commercial, it’s all ok, right? But this campaign – promoting secret drinking? It’s as if Tropicana, a family brand, no longer has a moral compass.
Direct quote out of Ad Age from a VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Juice Brands, PepsiCo Beverages North America
“We saw #TakeAMimoment as an opportunity to engage parents in a fun—and real—way,” said Anup Shah, vice president and chief marketing officer Juice Brands, PepsiCo Beverages North America in a statement. We can’t be our best for our families unless we as parents take time for ourselves. Tropicana recognizes that it’s important to balance self-care with caring for others, especially in times like these. As a father of three daughters, I get it.”
(This quote has been sourced from Ad Age in this article you can find here written by I-Hsien Sherwood and published on December 9th, 2020)
And then they double down on this campaign and bring in the star power
Tropicana has recruited celebrity parents Jerry O’Connell, Gabrielle Union-Wade, and Molly Sims to help it urge parents to enjoy a “moment of brightness” — with a mimosa. I’ve never been a very big fan of Jerry or Molly. I actually bumped into Jerry one time by the pool at a swanky boutique hotel on Waikiki Beach and he’s kind of a jerk. But Gabrielle, I really thought you were better than this. I’m so disappointed in you.
The Sober Community takes a stand
Listen, just because I’m an alcoholic doesn’t mean I care if you do or don’t drink. That’s your life and your business. Most of you that enjoy a good mimosa will never have any consequences from it other than maybe a headache the next day. Yay you!
But for some of us, secret drinking, hidden drinking was the opposite of selfcare. For some of us, it nearly killed us. We’ve been to hell and back and we get up every day and make the commitment, just for today, to not drink. And let me tell you something… THAT is selfcare. THAT is how I show my son the love that he deserves. I am able to show up to work and give 100% because I don’t drink. THAT is how I am not only a good parent, but a good daughter, sister, and friend. THAT is how I stay out of jails and institutions.
Insta-Sober – it’s not just me that’s upset
Gentry Fawn is a full time sober mom and part time sober comedian that I follow on Instagram. She’s a writer, a speaker, and a coach. Here is what she posted on her Instagram @lifewithgentry in regards to the Tropicana ad campaign.
My new sober friend Michelle Smith, that I met earlier this year via Instagram, weighs in on her Instagram account @recoveryisthenewblack. Michelle has 4 years of sobriety and is the mother of two kids. She’s also a certified mental health and addictions counselor and virtual Recovery Coach. We’ve had conversations about the “Mommy juice” culture and how it almost destroyed her life.
Her heartfelt video brought me to tears over how this campaign message impacts her. At the time of the publishing of this post, that video has been seen by nearly 11K people.
Another Instagram account that I really respect is Megan Camille of @youdonthavetohitrockbottom She is a Mommy Wine Culture Survivor/Writer with a focus of Re-Branding + Normalizing Sobriety.
Sober Curator Pro Tip: #ADDTOCART alert She also has a rad Sober Not Sorry Merch Shop and you should check it out here
#ADDTOCART SOBER NOT SORRY
Hey Megan, Instagram fist-bump for the Rockstar post as you rock your Sober Not Sorry hat. I’m with you! #WhatSheSaid
And you know what Tropicana? There’s of lot of us that refuse to sit on the bench anymore and keep quiet. There’s a common phrase that ruminates around the rooms and social feeds of sober peeps…”When we recover out loud, others do not have to die silently.”
Numbers are fun! Let’s do some math. Megan has over 4,300 followers. And she tagged all of these sober influencers in her post. We are a movement and the sober mom’s….we are the loudest. Collectively in this post represents over 2.625 million Instagram accounts that support the alcohol-free movement.
While I can’t say for sure how many of them are moms, I can tell you that’s a lot of people that do probably buy juice on occasion.
Thoughts on addiction
The recovery community has gone through an incredible metamorphosis since I got sober nearly 15 years ago. And while I appreciate the movement, it’s not enough. We have more work to do and in many cases, we are on a life or death mission.
There is still far too much stigma attached to addiction and alcohol use disorder. With misinformation and big alcohol marketing campaigns, it’s no wonder most people who become dependent on alcohol say, “I have no idea how I got here.”
Addiction doesn’t start at rock bottom. Think of a time you lost something that was an incredibly painful experience. That you had no control over, no matter how hard you tried or how much you wanted it. Seriously. Call that memory up. I’ll wait.
Do you have it pictured in your mind? It’s painful, right? That’s how I felt when I lost my ability to control my alcohol use. Once I started, the moment the vodka hit my throat, I could not stop. I couldn’t stop until I ran out, passed out, or blacked out. Every day I would resolve I would not drink. And every day, somehow, I would end up drunk all over again.
And the last few months of my drinking? I hid bottles in the bathroom to sneak drinks. Once my son would go to bed, all rules were off.
A memory I wish I could forget was of the last night I drank. My son, who was 9 at the time, tried to fill my wine bottle with bubblegum balls. Probably in hopes I would stop drinking it and start playing a game with him. I drank it anyway. My last night of drinking was with cheap wine, after running out of vodka, in a bottle filled with bubblegum balls. That’s not selfcare. That’s self destruction.
Additional thoughts on the Tropicana campaign
The other piece of this campaign that is baffling to me is that it implies you can hide alcohol from your kids and they’ll “never know”. My son knew. He knew where I stashed things, he knew what was in my glass that I would fondly refer to as “Mommy juice.” Shame on you Tropicana.
Rant over
At The Sober Curator, we really try to stay focused on the positive. Our glass is half-full, there’s just no booze in it. We curate content about living an alcohol-free lifestyle and life in recovery with hopes that we can show that life is worth living after you put the bottle down. Our focus is usually on fun zero-proof mocktails, binge worthy podcasts, movies, and TV series. We cover must read memoirs and great online sellers of pretty cool sober merch and swag.
We’re sober not boring and we aim to live our lives to the fullest. Getting up on our political soapbox isn’t really our thing. But doing the right thing, well that is very much our thing. Long ago we were taught, if you see something say something. So this time, this time I just had to say something because I’ve had enough.
Speaking of doing the right thing…
You know Tropicana, you could seize this moment in time and do the right thing. Be bold and turn this potentially harmful hashtag into something positive.
What if #TakeAMimoment turned into #TakeAMoment – a campaign to talk to your kids about the dangers of alcohol abuse disorder and why hiding booze is never a good idea. (BTW, We called that alcoholism back in the day.) This could be your historic #MeToo moment. This could be what catapults the conversation forward that normalizes how we talk about addiction. And, it might just help you sell some juice.
LATEST UPDATE FROM TROPICANA 12/15/2020 sometime after 2pm PST
On Tuesday afternoon, December 15th, Tropicana published a public apology on their Instagram post. While this may be a small victory for the recovery community in the grand scheme of things, we will take it.
MARK OUR WORDS: The Sober Community is rising up in a way we have never seen and we are a fierce force to be reckoned with. Thank you Tropicana for correcting so quickly. We all make mistakes. What is important is that we own them and what we learn from them.
Life is hard. Especially right now. Resources are available if you need them.
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.