The pandemic has put many events around the globe to a halt. But, if there is one thing that people across the world won’t forget, it is the day we celebrate our parents.
With or without the pandemic, we have seen just how much all mothers and fathers go the extra mile for us and how they continue to make an impact in our lives. If there is something the past two years in this pandemic have taught us, it’s that the relationship we have with our parents has evidently become more valuable and meaningful.
This 2022, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations will be more noteworthy as this will be the first time since COVID-19 struck that the holidays will not be marred by border closures and travel restrictions. Throughout the years, marketers and brands have taken the opportunity to create relevant campaigns that celebrate and honor the real MVPs – our Most Valuable Parents.
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, let’s take a look at how brands weaved stories that are sure to tug the heartstrings of anyone:
- Procter & Gamble: Thank You, Mom (2012)
Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, launched its Mother’s Day campaign which premiered at the London 2012 Olympics. At first glance, P&G doesn’t have an obvious connection with the Olympics but it banked on the idea that every Olympic athlete was raised by a mother or a mother figure they look up to. P&G has always been a “proud sponsor of Moms” and this became the link that sparked the development of a powerful campaign. P&G championed the moms of Olympic champs by highlighting the impact that its brand has in helping them become the greatest mother they could be. This heartwarming campaign illustrates the many things moms do to help their children reach and achieve their dreams. This global campaign was indeed a serenade to mothers around the world.
The campaign included the use of digital media, print and television ads, and even a mobile app. The centerpiece of this campaign is a one-minute and 20-second TV commercial that depicts how moms around the world inspired and supported each athlete in their quest for Olympic glory. Towards the end, the children are seen finally becoming Olympic champions – with their mothers watching their victory from the sidelines.
With $500 million in worldwide incremental P&G sales, 76 billion global media impressions, over 74,000,000 global views, and over 370,000,000 Twitter engagements, “Thank You, Mom” was the largest and most successful global campaign in P&G’s 175-year history.
- Mcdonalds: #LoveKitaMa (2019)
McDonald’s is one of the Philippines’ most well-known restaurant franchises, with over 600 outlets nationwide. For its Mother’s Day campaign, McDonald’s Philippines released a touching tribute to all single mothers around the globe. This tearjerker is a poignant glimpse into the depth of a mother’s love.
This video shows us a mother and her child sharing their favorite Mcdonald’s fries while being surrounded by other families who have both parents present. The child begins to associate herself and her mother with the fries but then wonders if anything is missing. The film ends with a beautiful resolution – that their family is complete and perfect the way it is.
This campaign sent a lovely message that resonated with its consumers – even generating plenty of free user-generated content such as images of them being proud single mothers to their children. This video became very popular in the Philippines racking up more than 8,000,0000 views on YouTube, 8,300,000 views and 247,000 likes, and 7,600 comments on Facebook.
- Ritz: Foster Home (2021)
This Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the RITZ brand, one of America’s favorite crackers, in collaboration with the National Foster Parent Association, introduced a multichannel campaign called “Foster Welcome” which illustrates the emotional and exciting experience of welcoming a foster child into a family. This campaign highlights the role of foster moms and dads in helping children in need to feel welcome. It aimed to celebrate the hardwork, dedication, and compassion of foster parents who may have been generally overlooked during Mother’s and Father’s Day.
The “Foster Welcome” campaign is the latest edition to RITZ purpose-driven platform,”A Taste of Welcome” which strives to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging by recognizing and celebrating underprivileged groups of people such as foster children. This two-minute heartwarming video garnered more than 11,000,000 million views on YouTube.
This campaign is also very notable for offering digital sticker packs on Instagram. This allowed people to get these stickers by simply entering #FosterWelcome into the sticker search bar on Instagram Stories when posting photographs of their families. Foster parents were able to decorate their family pictures in states where sharing pictures of foster children is prohibited. The sticker pack on Instagram Stories includes a mix of phrases like “Support foster families” and “Celebrate foster parents,” as well as animated GIFs of sunglasses and masks to cover people’s identities in shots, with pictures and videos disappearing after 24 hours.
Brands have leveraged emotional advertising throughout the years and they, too, have learned to appeal to the dads’ sensitive side. Whether they go humorous or heartfelt, Father’s day offers an opportunity for brands to seize moments and even start a dialogue. Here are some of the Father’s day campaigns that will warm your heart:
- Dove Men+Care: Calls for Dad #RealDadMoments (2014)
One of Unilever’s brands, Dove Men+Care, launched a campaign that features authentic, real-life stories that tackle fatherhood. It sought to reframe the media’s representation of fatherhood through snapshots of “real dad moments”. This powerful one-minute video, released just in time for Father’s Day, looks at the touching and delicate moments of fatherhood. This campaign also sheds light on the question, “Isn’t it the time we celebrate Dads”? The ad is based on Dove’s research which shows that while 75% of fathers believe that they are responsible for their child’s emotional well-being, only 20% of them see this responsibility represented on television.
This touching commercial shows us a montage of children calling out to their dads in various situations and emotions. Along with this ad, Dove Men+Care launched a hashtag campaign where they encouraged viewers to use the tag #RealDadMoments and #RealStrength to share memories of their father on social media. The audience showed love for their fathers and even shared their heartfelt stories. Users are uploading images of what fatherhood looks like for them. In addition to that, Dove Men+Care has also established a “Fatherhood” page on their website, which features a collection of images, tweets, videos, and more from “genuine dad moments.” The brand has maximized user-submitted photos and videos and has successfully run print and digital ads sharing real dad moments. This campaign has garnered 1,000,000,000 PR impressions, 12,000 #RealDadMoments shares, and almost 14,000,000 views on YouTube.
- Tesco Father’s Day: Tannoy Takeover (2016)
For its Father’s day campaign, Tesco, UK’s leading supermarket, wanted to help their customers show their love for their dads by surprising them with heartwarming recorded messages that were broadcasted inside their stores.
Before leading up to this campaign, Tesco’s research showed that Father’s day wasn’t as prioritized and that gifts and cards for fathers were often more comedy-based when compared to how brands approached mothers which tends to appeal to the emotions. With this, Tesco saw the need to create unashamed and genuine emotional connections between fathers and their children – and thus, the idea was born.
Tesco gave its customers the chance to record a special personalized message for their fathers which was then played over the tannoy system, as they shopped with their dads. The reactions spoke for themselves as the fathers appeared to be moved. Their genuine and sincere reactions to their children’s messages generated an emotional film that was simple but very relatable. This was released on Facebook, Youtube, and Unruly – thanks to a strong early reaction on television.
Last 2016, this campaign generated 45,000,000 impressions across all mediums and 7,000,000 views across all channels. The customers’ sentiments were overwhelmingly positive as customers shared their stories which shows that they were able to establish an emotional connection with their viewers and that they have successfully emphasized the importance of honoring dads on Father’s Day.
- Jollibee: Maestro (2021)
Jollibee is the Philippines’ largest fast-food chain, with over 1,400 locations operating in the country. The restaurant chain also has outlets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia, North America, and Europe. For its Father’s Day campaign, Jollibee sought to feature the relentless and persevering spirits of Dad by including real-life snippets of fathers who explored new endeavors in an effort to sustain and provide for their families during the time of the pandemic.
This four-minute video is Jollibee’s latest tribute to all resilient and dependable fathers around the world. This campaign was well received with users expressing their love for their fathers and even sharing their favorite stories about their dads.
This successful Kwentong Jollibee campaign produced significant numbers with almost 11,000,000 views on YouTube and more than 12,000,000 views on Facebook.
The authentic messaging in all of these campaigns deeply connects with today’s consumers. Through the years, brands have employed their creativity in order to create memorable campaigns that will leave a lasting mark on the minds and hearts of their consumers. Brands are continuously innovating and reflecting on how they can keep up with the ever-changing audience – and this is paramount to achieving great long-lasting results.
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