When J&J recently decided to woo a group of influential women who blog about family life, it spared no expense. J&J zeroed in on more than 50 women who write widely read blogs about child-raising and related topics, and invited them to “Camp Baby,” a three-day retreat held last month near its New Brunswick, New Jersey, headquarters, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey writes.

To sweeten the deal, free plane tickets and lodging were offered at the upscale Heldrich Hotel, named for a former J&J exec. Scheduled events included a wine tasting with “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” alum Ted Allen, a dinner at a high-priced restaurant and free products, such as Neutrogena skin-care products and a Nintendo DS Lite gameplayer, for each attendee, the paper writes.

What J&J didn’t expect was a bruising backlash from mom bloggers during the run-up to the event. Some invitees were appalled to learn kids weren’t welcome, not even breastfeeding infants. What kind of company, they asked, calls an event Camp Baby…and outlaws babies? The paper cites one blogger who works in marketing and called the botched outreach a “case study in the making…I cannot imagine what J&J was thinking,” wrote Ellen Gerstein in one post. “Way to build equity with moms!” (Here’s another of her comments).

The event also conflicted with a popular business forum in New York sponsored by BlogHer, a network of women bloggers. And it wasn’t held on a weekend, when child care would have been easier to negotiate with working husbands. Trying to connect with a core group of customers, J&J came off as tone-deaf, the paper notes diplomatically.

The flap illustrates how even the ablest companies can falter when trying to build relationships with customers in the digital age, although J&J did recover its balance quickly. The retreat turned out to be a success and, by most accounts, J&J scored points for reaching out to bloggers with complaints. Camp Baby organizer Lori Dolginoff started coordinating damage control while stranded on jury duty in New York City and, once the event began, waited in the Heldrich’s lobby to personally deliver mea culpas to arriving guests, the Ledger reports.

Many bloggers who attended Camp Baby said the most enjoyable part was the opportunity to network with their brainy, outspoken peers, the paper writes. But J&J made sure it had a seat at the table, and the “blogstorm” that preceded the event may have paradoxically eased the conversation between bloggers and company officials. “Sometimes, when things don’t happen so smoothly upfront, it creates a bonding experience for everyone,” Dolginoff tells the paper.

But whether any goodwill that generated can translate into product recommendations is unclear. Erika Jurney, a Californian who writes the Plain Jane Mom blog, says she may have a more open mind about J&J product the next time she hits Target. J&J officials, meanwhile, tell the Ledger they haven’t decided yet if another retreat will be held, although work continues on other side projects with bloggers.