Opting out of Mother’s Day

It started with Bloom and Wild. Then Superdrug. And Marks and Spencer.  This year more brands are choosing to offer an opt-out option for any Mother’s Day marketing.  And frankly? Thank fuck for that.  While targetted advertising and emails go hand and hand with being on the internet (and yes, I do want to know what fragrance matches my star sign Facebook, thanks for noticing) there are some things for a myriad of reasons can be particularly triggering.  And Mother’s Day is rife with it.

There’s a list for not wanting to celebrate Mother’s Day as long as both my arms and then some.  Whatever particular form it takes – from loss, trauma, pain, societal constructs on what pertains to motherhood or what our relationships with mothers should be –  brands recognising that this is difficult and exercising in a little bit of sensitivity is garnering praise from all across the Twittersphere.  It’s a small bit of humanity that acknowledges that there are those amongst us who don’t have mother’s to celebrate, don’t have mother’s we want to celebrate or other struggles tied within motherhood and everything that comes along with it. And at the point – a bit of emotional savvy goes in hand with smart capitalism a nice touch to not make people feel like shit.

I’m not suggesting we sack off Mother’s Day though or that Mother’s Day emails shouldn’t be a thing at all. I know some excellent mum’s out there, and while some of the promotional emails that drop into my inbox are questionable to say the least, if you have the means and the will – treat yo’ momma. Giving it all good and gravy and sometimes a day can be a nice wee reminder to check in to let someone that they’re great.  That said a small email or a click of a button to NOT have mother’s day emails? It’s a nice touch. “Treat your mumma because she deserves it” doesn’t always ring true for everyone and getting steamrolled by your mum’s brilliant, mum’s great, GIVE, BUY, DO THE THING can feel like emotional terrorism. By having an opt-out you’re allowing the people who are least likely to going to engage with your brand off the hook, because the clincher is – they would rather be marketed at just about anything BUT mother’s day.  And you’ve got options.  My phone listens to enough of my conversations to already know that I am on the hunt for the perfect midi polka dot dress and brown boots (manifest this for me optimised advertising, I’m still waiting) but hasn’t quite learned that Mother’s Day really ain’t my thing. Having it removed from my inbox though is a helpful mental spring clean and a little bit less white noise to wade through.

Treat your mum this mother’s day or don’t, this year though I’ll be opting out.

Image: Tub of Jelly