You might remember that back in March, male parents started a campaign asking Amazon why its program that provides discounts and free shipping on necessary baby items is called Amazon Mom in the United States, and Amazon Family in every other country where Amazon does business. Why? Now, at the end of the calendar year, Amazon finally admits that dads also know how to click “Add to Cart” on a package of diapers.
“Keeping the name ‘mom’ was sending out a pretty loud message what Amazon thought about family and gender roles,” one of the leaders told the Chicago Tribune. “We saw it as an opportunity for them to send a strong message about what modern families look like. That’s why it was important.” Shopping and parenting aren’t only done by women, and never were.
Campaigners made their campaign a little bit louder in March as a tribute to a stay-at-home father and longtime campaigner against the “Amazon Mom” branding who died of cancer at age 42.
Dads who are full-time caregivers or who just occasionally take care of their own children found the program’s discounts useful, but its marketing e-mails aimed exclusively at “moms” irritating. Amazon quietly changed the program and its branding this week, notifying leaders of the campaign.
Finally, quietly, Amazon Mom changes its name to Amazon Family [Chicago Tribune]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist