On the bright side, the Motrin episode has finally inspired the answer to the increasingly frequent client question: “How can we use social networking to sell more widgets?”

1) We do one cheap 30-second spot on local TV that includes a minor element guaranteed to piss off a subculture of ferociously networked bulldogs who aren’t in your target audience.
2) They raise a stink and demand that you immediately pull the ad.
3) You refuse and tell them to get a life.
4) They blog ballistic. You get a zillion dollars worth of free publicity.
5) They can’t believe you defied them and launch a national boycott against you.
6) This has no effect on sales because they never bought your widgets in the first place.
7) You repeat your refusal to pull the ad, but you no longer have to pay to run it because it’s now running for free all over the place.
8) Oprah offers to broker a peace in prime time between you and the head of the boycott.
9) You announce your intention to run the ad on the Super Bowl and offer to pay for your opponent to have a sense-of-humor transplant.
7) You win the undying brand loyalty of the widget-buying silent majority who agree with you.
8) I win an Effie Award for the most sales ever generated from a single commercial. And I finally get an ad on the Super Bowl.