A billion-dollar formula company has waded into the so-called mommy wars with a surprising message: We support you no matter how you feed your baby.

Similiac, a leading manufacturer of infant formula in the U.S., recently launched its new marketing campaign with a video parody that quickly went viral. In the commercial, mothers who judge each other’s decisions harshly (strollers vs. slings, breastfeeding vs. bottle, stay-at-home vs. back-at-work) start to brawl on the playground until (spoiler alert) they are united by saving a baby in a runaway stroller.

That a formula company might fancy itself an arbiter of peace in such a parenting dustup is a truly inspired marketing move.

Lindsy B. Delco, director of public affairs for Abbott, the company that makes Similac, said the point of the commercial isn’t to convince consumers to buy formula but rather to feel comfortable with their parenting decisions. "We’ve always believed in supporting moms and dads," she told Mashable. "I don’t know that we’ve always been as vocal about it."

Diana West, an international board certified lactation consultant and media director of the nonprofit breastfeeding support group La Leche League International, is more skeptical of the company’s PR blitz. “It’s not a PSA,” she said. “It’s not an altruistic, pro-bono effort by a company. It’s purely to enhance their brand acceptance.”

These days, formula companies would certainly welcome a warmer embrace of their products. Feeding a baby formula when it's not medically necessary is now a controversial decision, not only in the judgmental neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Berkeley, but also amongst public health professionals. While hospitals once handed out formula to new mothers in swag bags, they’re now under pressure to put an end to giveaways and focus instead on breastfeeding.

This is a striking contrast from just a few decades ago when formula feeding was recommended and routine. So how did it become so contentious?

The answer has a lot to do with science. When formula first became widely available in the early twentieth century, it seemed like a more effective, precise way to nourish a baby, said Amy Bentley, an associate professor of food studies at New York University and author of Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health, and the Industrialization of the American Diet.

At the time, researchers didn’t understand the unique properties of human milk, which contains antibodies and helps babies develop immunity to infection and disease. Mothers and doctors also didn’t feel confident that babies received enough nutrition and calories from breast milk, which can often look thin and watery. Formula became a way to “create better living through chemistry,” said Bentley.

Developed by scientists, formula was an incarnation of modern medicine.

It also came along as the act of breastfeeding was increasingly seen as impolite or even vulgar.

By 1956, the breastfeeding rate in the U.S. hovered around 20%, according to La Leche League International.

By the early 1970s, the rate began to climb again. The counter-culture movement and the rise of the “natural mother,” Bentley said, began to shift public opinion. “There was a questioning of everything — capitalism, government, science — the way we’ve always done things.” Women were encouraged to trust their own instincts and reject formula as unnecessary.

Formula also became seen as a corporate enterprise, subject to the same motivation for profit as any other business. In the 1970s, Nestle sent sales representatives dressed as nurses to African countries, plying mothers with free formula samples. The ploy for market share had devastating results: Women abandoned breastfeeding, but didn’t necessarily have access to the clean water, refrigeration, sterilization and money required for formula feeding.

This sparked outrage and boycotts, though it would take yet another shift in science to truly make formula controversial. Over the past two decades, dozens of studies have demonstrated the powerful benefits of breastfeeding. Research shows that babies are less likely to get sick or be hospitalized due to an illness. Breastfeeding also helps prevent ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory illness and childhood obesity, and is linked to a dramatic reduction in the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

By the late aughts, these findings made for a compelling, emotional argument in favor of breastfeeding. Formula feeding when it wasn’t medically necessary became stigmatized and discouraged, particularly as studies showed that it can negatively alter a baby’s gut bacteria and compromise the immune system.

Image: NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its policy that infants should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months. That same year, New York City launched its own public health campaign encouraging mothers to breastfeed. In 2013, the federal Office of Women’s Health debuted a similar campaign targeting African-American mothers and their families.

In popular culture, the act of breastfeeding became a symbol of love and commitment for a child. That reached peak frenzy with a widely debated Time cover story on attachment parenting. A mother stood defiantly, staring out at consumers and breastfeeding her three-year-old son. The headline dared parents to answer a question: Are you mom enough?

For a company like Similac, such messages don’t make for a friendly marketplace. But Delco said Similac isn't interested in inflaming opinions about breastfeeding versus formula feeding.

“We think if moms want to breastfeed, that’s great,” she told Mashable. “That’s the whole point of the campaign. There are moms who cannot breastfeed and chose not to. We’re happy to give them information about formula.”

Similac, Delco added, wants to reach millennials who feel judged on every aspect of parenthood and share their experiences and concerns on social media.

The company's approach might just be working. Since debuting last week, the video has tallied more than 7 million views and the related post on the company’s Facebook page received nearly 11,000 likes.

In the hundreds of comments beneath the video, users debated the merits of the ad and questioned Similac's motives, but plenty of parents praised the company for not only making them laugh, but also pointing out the ridiculousness of shaming other parents for their different choices.

Diana West, of La Leche League, said Similac's campaign is the latest chapter in a long history of turning formula into a desirable product.

"[Formula] was controversial when it was created," she said. "Then the people who manufactured it created fabulous marketing."

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