Isadora blog

J&J's latest headache caused by its o.b. tampons

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson, already under fire for a string of product recalls, has another public relations issue on its hands after its o.b. tampons temporarily disappeared from stores and little was said about what happened.

O.b. users, many of whom have a cult-like loyalty to the product, said they were outraged when they could not find the brand in stores late last year. They asked clerks why shelves were empty and demanded answers from J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, already under fire for recalling over 200 million bottles of Tylenol and other medicines.

J&J has not said much about why o.b., its line of applicator-free tampons, went missing. Meanwhile, users of the Ultra version in particular, which J&J has discontinued, have complained online in blogs and through social media such as Facebook.

"I know to some this issue may seem trivial but to me this is like taking my right to breathe," said Dawn Allyn, a 44-year-old sign language interpreter from College Station, Texas, who used to use Ultra o.b. tampons.

The company said that dropping Ultra tampons, the most absorbent version, was a business decision. There were no health issues, such as reports of toxic shock syndrome, that led to the decision, which was made last September.

"To discontinue a product with huge loyalty is a surprising move when you're already getting negative press for other issues," said Tim Calkins, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

LATEST SNAFU

J&J admitted that it had experienced a temporary supply interruption with o.b., apologized to women inconvenienced by it and has started shipping the goods again. It has not said exactly what happened.

This is just the latest product glitch at J&J. In 2010, it recalled millions of bottles of medications such as infant Tylenol. Earlier this month, it recalled nearly 50 million more packages of medicines, blaming cleaning procedures and other problems at a manufacturing plant.

"J&J has had an astonishing series of snafus; there's been one problem after the next," said Calkins. "So far it seems like the J&J brand is still holding up okay. But at some point you do begin to think that there's going to be a long term impact."

Store shelves sit empty where J&J's recalled products and missing tampons had stood, or they are filled with other goods.

In the 52 weeks ended on December 25, 2010, U.S. shoppers spent $830.1 million on tampons and more than 90 percent of those sales came from branded goods, according to Nielsen Co.

While o.b. is a small brand in the overall U.S. tampon category and accounts for a tiny fraction of J&J's $61.9 billion in annual revenue, J&J has already seen McNeil's recalls hurt its bottom line. U.S. sales of J&J's consumer brands plunged 25 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

"OHNE BINDE"

O.b. has a loyal customer base among women who find the tampons fit them best or who want an environmentally-friendly option without a plastic or cardboard applicator.

The product was first made in the 1940s. Gynecologist Dr. Judith Esser is credited with creating o.b. and naming it to stand for "ohne binde," or "without napkins" in German.

Now much of its loyal following is looking elsewhere.

"You force customers to buy your competitor's products and that's always a dangerous approach," Calkins said.

Allyn, who had used only o.b. since her teens, tried to find creative ways to source the product after she could not find her beloved brand. Even her ex-husband went from store to store and made phone calls trying to find them.

Allyn was going to buy them online, where individuals are capitalizing on the supply shortage, but she balked at paying high prices for a product that usually retails for less than $7 a box.

On eBay, a dozen people have already submitted bids for one of several boxes of Ultra o.b. tampons up for sale, with the price currently at $28.75. Third-party sellers who advertise their wares on Amazon.com have priced boxes of o.b. tampons as high as $79.99.

In the United States, o.b. ranks behind Procter & Gamble Co's Tampax, Energizer Holdings Inc's Playtex, Kimberly-Clark Corp's Kotex and even private label, or store branded, tampons, according to data from SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm.

J&J's o.b. rang up about $38.7 million in sales in the 52 weeks ended December 26, 2010, excluding sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc, club stores such as Costco Wholesale Corp, gas stations and convenience stores, according to SymphonyIRI. Tampax Pearl, the top-selling brand, posted $178.6 million in sales.

With Ultra o.b. gone for good, Allyn switched to Playtex tampons, which she said do not work as well for her.

"I loved o.b. and their design," she said. "I am peeved big time. This was a huge marketing mistake and should be set right."

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

In L.A. Schools: Shootings, a Food Fight and Mayor Villaraigosa vs. UTLA

COMMENTARY | To say that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is beleaguered would be an understatement. Interestingly, a lot of its problems are of its own making. What's going on with California's largest public school system?

Meet the LAUSD

The massive California school district commandeers a . Of these funds, $312 million are devoted to food service that offers breakfasts and lunches to LAUSD students. Personal safety of students and staff is ensured by theLos Angeles School Police Department.

Problems at LAUSD's Gardena High School

By all accounts, GardenaHigh School was a problem waiting to happen. With four sex offenses, seven weapons possessions and eight batteries in the , there is a clear indication that all is not well.

Granted, the incidents of weapons possession are down by 10 (when compared to the prior fiscal year) but even so the school " and consistently ranks at the bottom of the state's lowest achieving schools list."

Adding insult to injury, reports now suggest that intermittent security magnetic wand-use did not take place as directed.

Food Fight!

While children are getting shot, LAUSD is engaged in a food fight with , who planned on bringing reality TV cameras and nutritional food choices into L.A. school cafeterias and kitchens. Blaming a school board that refuses him access, Oliver is now seeking to mobilize parents.

Oliver claims that they "don't want me looking at what's going on and showing it to the public." Right, wrong or indifferent, he does bring up a good point: why are cameras not allowed into a state-funded operation?

LAUSD vs. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vs. UTLA

In a surprising change of direction, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa came down hard on the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) when calling them "."

In what amounts to an exercise in serial and circular finger-pointing, teachers blame the lack of funding, politicians blame the teachers' union, the union blames the bureaucracy and parents blame all of the above.

In fact, parents are increasingly looking for alternatives "while government officials and the teachers unions try to figure out what went wrong."

Union Proclaims Itself Reform Leader

Ask the UTLA, and you get a completely different picture of the situation. The union considers Mayor Villaraigosa to be "" and touts union-led and teacher-instituted reforms. Part and parcel of its success, the union asserts, is a loosening of the "grip of L.A. Unified bureaucracy."

Going full circle, the union blames LAUSD bureaucrats for the problems that plague the unwieldy giant.

In the Final Analysis...

If you have not noticed much in the way of actual solutions, you are not alone. In between glad-handing and backslapping (or back-stabbing), there is precious little forward movement. Need more proof? After the Gardena High School shooting there was a meeting for parents.

One parent is quoted as stating that "she was irritated byon their reaction to the shooting" and that the rest of the meeting was characterized by "vague responses about improving security."

Sylvia Cochran is a Los Angeles area resident with a firm finger on the pulse of California politics. Talk radio junkie, community volunteer and politically independent, she scrutinizes the good and the bad from both sides of the political aisle.

Notre Dame tops Wisconsin to win Old Spice Classic

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Not much was expected out of Notre Dame this season. Not after all the talent they lost from a year ago. Turns out, there might be enough talent left to make some noise after all.

Carleton Scott and Eric Atkins scored 12 points apiece, leading Notre Dame past Wisconsin 58-51 on Sunday night to claim the Old Spice Classic championship.

The Irish (7-0) scored 15 straight points in the final four minutes to pull away, overcoming an 11-point second-half deficit to go home with a huge tournament victory for a revamped team suddenly beaming with confidence.

"I think we showed a lot of people out there that we still have some fight in us," said Tim Abromaitis, who had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Irish and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Notre Dame came through when it counted most.

Ben Hansbrough stripped Jordan Taylor and converted a 3-point play on the other end over Taylor with 19 seconds remaining to highlight Notre Dame's run. The Irish shot free throws the rest of the way, finishing 20 for 25 from the stripe to beat a pesky Wisconsin team.

Jon Leuer had 19 points and Taylor had 14 points for the Badgers (4-2) before fouling out on Hansbrough's layup.

"They had some guys that made timely baskets and timely free throws, and that's how you win those kind of grinders," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "And both our teams will be in more of them before the season's out."

The Irish might already be considered overachievers.

With mainstays Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson gone, the burden fell upon seniors Hansbrough, Scott and Tyrone Nash and grad student Abromaitis — all back from a 23-win team last year that lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Old Dominion, but not exactly the guys who carried the load.

They have so far this season.

Notre Dame won its third in-season tournament title in 11 seasons under coach Mike Brey. The 7-0 mark also matched the 2001-02 team for Brey's best start at Notre Dame.

"I learned something about my team that I knew I would down here," Brey said. "You hope to learn while you're winning, certainly that's helpful. But for us right now, this team is very confident."

The Badgers came into the tournament reeling from a loss to UNLV that likely cost them a spot in the Top 25 rankings. All they did was beat Manhattan and Boston College by double-digits before taking on Notre Dame in the final.

Wisconsin's frontline bullied and bruised an undersized Irish team early. The Badgers went ahead by eight points in the first half, building enough cushion to overcome some shooting lapses.

At least for a while.

Notre Dame began sitting in its zone defense and keeping Wisconsin on the perimeter. The move paid off, and the Irish scored the last 11 points of the half to take a 22-19 lead at the break.

Leuer, Taylor and Tim Jarmusz hit consecutive 3-pointers to highlight a 9-0 Wisconsin spurt in the second half to eventually go ahead by 11 points. The last came from Taylor, who waived his hands to the Badgers' faithful and chest bumped several teammates all the way to the bench during a timeout.

The celebration was premature.

"We just made too many mistakes down the stretch, and they made a lot of hustle plays," Leuer said.

A gritty Notre Dame found its rhythm and clamped down defensively. Wisconsin was smothered at both ends of the court, and its frustrations mounted when Abromaitis grabbed Scott Martin's missed free throw for a put-back layup that gave Notre Dame a 50-48 lead with 1:58 left.

They never trailed again.

In the end, it was an Irish team not expected to steal any spotlights this season who were the ones cutting down the nets and toasting a title trophy while streams of confetti flew.

Kind of like they do in March.

Now making the NCAA tournament isn't unrealistic at all. After victories over Thanksgiving against Georgia, California and Wisconsin, they've already made a strong case.

"Certainly they're great wins," Brey said. "We should have a couple resume wins."

8 Ways to Bring Chanukah to Life This Year, With G-dcast

Jewish animation studio G-dcast (rhymes with podcast) shares its new Chanukah family cartoon, PLUS, 8 fun ways to bring the Festival of Lights to life. Chanukah comes "early" this year - right after Thanksgiving - giving families the chance to celebrate the holiday as a special experience completely distinct from "the other December holiday." But what's the meaning of Chanukah apart from presents and menorahs and latkes? G-dcast is an animation studio that has brought the story of Chanukah to life in a five minute cartoon that's perfect for watching on your mobile device or on the web right before you light those candles this year.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 23, 2010

Jewish animation studio G-dcast (rhymes with podcast) shares its new Chanukah family cartoon, PLUS, 8 fun ways to bring the Festival of Lights to life.

Chanukah comes "early" this year - right after Thanksgiving - giving families the chance to celebrate the holiday as a special experience completely distinct from "the other December holiday." But what's the meaning of Chanukah apart from presents and menorahs and latkes?

G-dcast is an animation studio that has brought the story of Chanukah to life in a five minute cartoon that's perfect for watching on your mobile device or on the web right before you light those candles this year.

G-dcast's on Fire with 8 Fun Ways to Celebrate the 8 Days of Chanukah.

1. Watch G-dcast’s new Chanukah video with your friends or family to learn what the holiday is really all about.

2. Enter G-dcast's Chanukah contest - tell us what you learned from the video and get a chance to win an iPod Touch, a Chanukah gift basket or a delicious kosher gift basket!

3.Challenge yourself to explain what the holiday means to someone who doesn’t know the story.

4. Celebrate the miracle of the oil by indulging in fattening, oily foods: Make sweet potatoes latkes, have an olive oil tasting party, or serve jelly donuts.

5. Wear your identity on your sleeve like the Maccabees did!Find a Jewish t-shirt to wear online.

6. Wrestle (like the Greeks) with a new Jewish idea- pick up a book, magazine, or surf the web to learn something you didn’t know about Judiasm.

7. Learn how to play Dreidel: the instructions are embedded in our cartoon.

8. Download the free G-dcast Chanukah MP3 -“I’m Just Fine” - from the G-dcast site. Play it for your kids and talk about what the lyrics mean. Download the song here:

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Sarah LeftonG-dcast(415)754-3672Email Information

Lanvin 'lends' high fashion to H&M

PARIS (AFP) – The allure of a top fashion name and the reach of a global chain: the Paris couturier Lanvin this week rolls out a line for H&M in the latest of a string of holiday-season flings between high fashion and high street.

Fashionista hordes are expected to mob outlets of the Swedish retailer as Lanvin's collection goes on sale in 200 stores worldwide on Tuesday, after a pre-launch Saturday in the United States and Canada.

Sofia Coppola and Andie MacDowell lent star power as Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz staged a preview catwalk show Thursday in New York of the limited-edition line, first revealed in an online film and dedicated website.

For the fashion consultant Jean-Jacques Picart, operations like this one are "in step with the times."

"Since the 1990s, women have been playing pick and mix between high fashion and budget clothes. Not just following the diktats of designers."

Co-branding operations between designers and budget fashion outlets reach back over a few decades. In the early 1990s, Azzedine Alaia broke ground with a collection for Tati, Paris' biggest discount store. Later Yves Saint Laurent designed a trouser suit for the French mail-order catalogue La Redoute in 1996.

H&M first experimented with the formula in 2004, with a tie-up with Karl Lagerfeld that lifted monthly sales by a quarter, and the world's third-largest fashion group has not looked back since.

Since then it has hooked up with the likes of Stella McCartney, Viktor and Rolf, Comme des Garcons, Jimmy Choo and Sonia Rykiel -- on top of one-off lines with style icons Kylie Minogue or Madonna.

The chain says it wants to "move beyond its core concept of quality fashion at the best price, to make so-called 'luxury' fashion available to the greatest number."

And so far, H&M says the customer response has been "euphoric" -- though it will not release detailed sales figures.

Working with designers is also a way for the chain to shed the image of fashion copycat, positioning itself instead as a partner of high fashion.

Elbaz says he was initially reluctant to design for a retailer, but was "intrigued" by the idea that H&M could adapt to the codes of the luxury world.

But for couturiers, whose exclusive brands are a vital asset, there is more danger involved in associating itself with the high-street, says Picart.

"The risk exists, although in this case the clothes I have seen are in keeping with the Lanvin spirit."

For Picart, high-street tie-ups make most sense for diverse luxury brands that sell everything from couture clothes to lipstick -- like Lanvin which is betting on strong Christmas perfume sales this year.

"If you don't have any spin-off products to sell there isn't much point," he said.

"For sure, this is going to introduce a new category of women, who neither buy Elle nor Vogue, to the work of Alber Elbaz. It can be a great booster in terms of popularity."

"But the people buying Lanvin at H&M are not going to buy regular Lanvin three months from now. They can't afford it. The speculation is all on the perfume sales."

From the consumer's viewpoint, however, the benefit is clear: a chance to sample a designer label for a tiny fraction of the cost.

Lanvin made a splash at Paris Fashion Week this October, with long pleated skirts that swirled and spun around body-hugging tops -- but a humble jersey draped dress from its website will set you back a tidy 1,225 dollars apiece.

With H&M, Elbaz designed cocktail dresses with rose-patterning or yellow frills and sharp-tailored black or purple party frock numbers, with a democratic price tag of 99 to 149 euros (149 to 199 dollars).

Looking past the hype, is all this changing the face of fashion?

In terms of bringing affordable style to the masses, Picart suggests Japanese giant Uniqlo's decision to hire top designer Jil Sander full-time carries more weight than one-off tie-ups.

"It's a marriage compared to a fling," he said. "But working with a top designer, meeting their standards on a daily basis, is a difficult exercise -- for any large industrial group."