Huggies Newborn Rebranding

[Bathsheba]

I almost exclusively use Huggies products (nappies and wipes) and I have thought that the new packaging for the newborn range is very sweet...until the penny suddenly dropped that it shows a newborn sleeping on its front.

The advice for over 10 years has been to not put newborns to sleep on their front. The incidence of SIDS has dropped dramatically in this time.

I find it hard to believe that a re-brand such as this, with all the people involved and meetings and huge budgets, that no-one queried this....

agree with thisisyesterday

agree with thisisyesterday as well - it's clearly not a representational picture and anyone would have to be without a single brain cell to think this was meant to be how you care for a baby

I do think it should be banned on grounds of taste though - is far too like those ghastly Anne Geddes abominations!

The new packs of Huggies Pure only have 64 wipes in them - the old ones had 72!

Tesco changed their nappy packaging recently - and then changed it again to take the photograph of a baby being bottlefed off the front of it, because of the email lashing they received.

Which doubtless the "meh, it doesn't matter" people will say "meh, doesn't matter" to.

But they always say that

"are you going to campaign to ban all Anne Geddes merchandise now too?"

Ooh, yes, lets, I fecking loathe those pictures!

well i very much campaigned to get tesco to change the bottle-feeding nappies actually

i think that was very different though

but this isn't the thread to get into a breast/bottle issue thingy is it?

Then I wasn't talking about you, TIY - and good on you

Just out of irrelevant nosinessinterest, why do you buy only Huggies? (says the Disney-boycotter)

I like the teddies on the huggies wipes, excellent friction.

I find Huggies really stiff and that they leak.

Pampers in this house, used for my lack of pelvic floor and DS!!!

It's only a picture as most have already said, not a manual to care for your baby.

I'm sure if we all went round looking at pictures on baby products and packaging, we could string up a whole load of manufacturers.

Whatever happened to common sense?

The problem with common sense is that it is not that common.

I find Pampers smelly - the actual nappy smells weird to me. Huggies have been leaking though with DS2, regardless of which way I point his willy. I like the Nature baby ones the best but they are a bit pricey.

I got these because they were on offer and I have to say it did occur to me as a bit of a daft choice of picture as well. And I thought of the Tesco bottle feeding and thought 'I bet someone on MN will want to complain about this!'

Obviously people won't see a packet of wipes as a baby manual but we all take stuff in unconsciously and it's normalising a practice that is dangerous.

Reminds me of those pics where the woman posed babies while they were asleep

BTW why shouldn't they wear hats indoors?? Missed that one...

Hi all ?You?re right that it?s so important that we consistently give out the right advice backed up by images that reinforce rather than undermine the message. Since the campaign to sleep babies on the back the number of cot deaths has fallen by 70%. You can see more steps to reduce the risk of cot death at FSID?s website fsid.org.uk/reduce-risk. BTW we?re talking with Huggies.

So all images of babies on their front are to be banned? Those bloody Anne Geddes photos, cards everything? How ridiculous. Of course it's important but really, that was so obviously an arty shot on the nappy pack. Stupid overreactions like this really undermine the truly important messages. Bandwagons like this are infuriating.

At last, something I can pin my hate for Anne Geddes on!

Hi Sarah

What a great shame this list, which is a precis of your leaflet:

? Place your baby on the back to sleep, in a cot in a room with you
? Do not smoke in pregnancy or let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby
? Do not share a bed with your baby if you have been drinking alcohol, if you take drugs or if you are a smoker
? Never sleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair
? Do not let your baby get too hot
keep your baby?s head uncovered place your baby in the ?feet to foot? position

doesn't include "breastfeed", when the leaflet itself makes mention of it.

Having read this thread I contacted Huggies as agreed with the concerns of the OP.
Just received email back saying they are rebranding.
Email reads as follows

Thank you for your recent email regarding HUGGIES® wipes. Your feedback is greatly appreciated by the HUGGIES® team as it really does help us to develop improved products. Finding out what each customer?s needs and wishes are is always a key element in our ongoing product development. Many of us working here at Kimberly-Clark are parents too, so we fully understand your concerns about infant safety and take them very seriously indeed. We would like to explain the thinking behind the new pack design; the baby photograph is intended as stylistic imagery only. By showing a newborn baby in the foetal position, the image seeks to communicate the suitability of the product for that age group of infants. It is in no way meant to be advice for mothers on how they should place their newborns to sleep. Nonetheless, some consumers and charities working in infant care raised concerns that the imagery might be misconstrued. As a result, and not wishing to give rise to any alarm or confusion among mothers, discussions were held with these charities and the HUGGIES team at Kimberly-Clark have now taken the decision to change the image so that the baby is awake instead of asleep. We hope you will be pleased to know that the updated baby image has been endorsed by FSID (The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) and First Candle (two charities who work to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). You will see the new packs on shelf in the coming months as current stocks are replenished. We thank you once again for contacting us and giving us an opportunity to respond on this important issue.

@hunkermunker

The list is on the front of the leaflet summarising the main points to reduce the risk of cot death and you are right that research shows that breastfeeding reduces the risk of cot death. Happy to discuss with our advisory panel of paediatricians and other experts about whether this should go on the front cover as well as within the leaflet. You might like to know that the breastfedding advice features more prominently in our BabyZone booklet - see [http://fsid.org.uk/Page.aspx?pid=419]

OMGoodness - sorry, I lost this thread and didn;t realise there are replies that I hadn't responded to.

ANYWAY, I've received an email back from the manufacturers - pasted below

------

Dear Bathsheba

You recently contacted us with regards to the newborn image shown on our Huggies® Newborn nappies.

As we previously explained, the image of the newborn baby in a foetal position seeks to communicate the suitability of the product for that age group of infants. Nonetheless, some consumers and charities working in infant care raised concerns that the imagery might be misconstrued. As a result, and not wishing to give rise to any alarm or confusion among mothers, discussions were held with these charities and the HUGGIES team at Kimberly-Clark have now taken the decision to change the image so that the baby is awake instead of asleep.

We hope you will be pleased to know that the updated baby image has been endorsed by FSID (The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) and First Candle (two charities who work to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). You will see the new packs on shelf in the coming months as current stocks are replenished.

Thank you once again for contacting us and giving us the opportunity to respond on this important issue.

Yours sincerely,

Consumer Services Department
Kimberly-Clark Europe