SONS #SHARETHELOAD

TitleSONS #SHARETHELOAD
BrandP&G INDIA
Product / ServiceARIEL MATIC
CategoryG03. Single Market Campaign
EntrantBBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation BBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Production OFFROAD FILMS Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Josy Paul BBDO India Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
Hemant Shringy BBDO India Chief Creative Officer
Sandeep Sawant BBDO India Executive Creative Director
Balakrishna Gajelli BBDO India Sr. Creative Director
Aarti Srinivasan BBDO India Sr. Creative Director
Karan Nair BBDO India Copywriter Supervisor
Vijay Kumar Vasala BBDO India Art Supervisor
Omkar Rachha BBDO India Visualizer
Hitesh Shah BBDO India Studio Head - Mumbai
Hitesh Shah BBDO India Studio Head - Mumbai
Krishna KV BBDO India Agency Producer
Rajeev Mohite BBDO India Studio Visual Editor
Manisha Sain BBDO India AVP - Planning
Atin Wahal BBDO India Executive Vice President
Mitul Shah BBDO India Vice President
Madhavi Chinnabhandar BBDO India Account Director
BBDO Studio Team BBDO Studio Team BBDO India Studio
Anmol Samel BBDO India Copywriter
Sudhir Pandey BBDO India Agency Producer
Gauri Shinde Offroad Films Film Director
Khalil Bachooali Offroad Films Film Producer

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Ariel had been leading the conversation around gender equality at home. To continue doing so with Sons #ShareTheLoad we took the message on to the roads and into the hearts and homes of middle-class India and the urban Indian woman. Besides the heart-wrenching film that captured the attention of the country, we converted never-before-used channels into new media: From the backs of auto rickshaws, to a unique fashion show for mothers and sons, an Ariel Rap Song launched on TikTok, we spread our message of gender equality at every step.

Background

With its prequels, ‘#ShareTheLoad’ and ‘Dads #ShareTheLoad’, Ariel placed the issue of gender inequality at home into the public consciousness. This movement went on to become not just the voice of millions of urban Indian women but also set a new category norm, where many household brands joined in on the conversation. We knew that in our effort to wash away the cultural stain of gender inequality at home we were up-against deep-rooted socio-cultural norms that are holding back women from realising their complete potential inside and outside of home. To continue Ariel’s mission, we realised our message needed to 1. Be far more directional yet universal to advance the brand’s leadership position 2. Take this conversation wider, beyond middle-class households, to even the emerging class, as more women were stepping out of their homes to fulfil their own and their family’s ambitions of leading a better quality of life.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Ariel Sons #ShareTheLoad – a provocative social movement urging parents to rethink the way they raise their sons and see sharing the load of laundry as a symbolic step towards removing the cultural stain of gender inequality at home so that both sons and daughters realise their full potential. We kickstarted our movement with a heart-wrenching film that captures a mother’s journey of realisation to course-correction. As the mother questions her son-in-law’s lack of knowledge when it comes to household chores, she realises she too has raised her son the same way. The impact of her action hits her hard and she immediately takes a step towards making a change – teaches her son to do his own laundry.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

This time around our challenge was two-fold: a) Go wider and deeper to bring about social change in emerging middle-class household too; b) offer a universal (for modern and conservative households) yet directional way forward that solves for the root-cause of gender inequality at home. In our research with the ‘emerging’ urban women, we realised that her approach to balancing traditional and modern thinking was inclusive and empathetic, unlike a rebel, she delicately navigated these two worlds through the power of the collective – groups of women like her – who together champion change to thrive as a collective; something that is also reflected in popular mainstream shows and movies (eg: Ladies Special, English Vinglish, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai) This nuance guided our thinking and a mother’s journey of realisation and initiate to right the wrong become central to our narrative for Ariel Sons #ShareTheLoad.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We kickstarted the movement with a thought-provoking film about a mother’s realisation. To maximise reach, we tapped into OTT content platforms like Hotstar and Voot - well penetrated new-mediums of personalised entertainment. We engaged leading parenting platforms like Mompresso and Babychakra to reach mothers online. To spread our message even wider, we added a simple line to the Prime Minister’s girl child initiative. So along with ‘Educate the girl-child for national progress’, we added ‘Educate sons about their role at home for societal progress’- this was driven home by Mumbai’s vast network of auto rickshaws. We also launched the ‘Ariel Son Washed Collection’, where we showcased proud mothers walking the ramp in clothes washed by their sons. To go even further we released a laundry rap song for sons on TikTok and a learning module on Hello English – the world’s second largest linguistic app that reaches 7 million people.

List the results (30% of vote)

Global changemakers welcomed it at the World Economic Forum in Davos and gender equality advocates like Sheryl Sandberg called it a powerful message. It was the centrepiece of conversation at the UN women and P&G's International Gender Equality summit (#WeSeeEqual) Sons #ShareTheLoad achieved USD 1.8 million in free "earned media" coverage across TV, publications, consumer activations and outreach, with over 3 billion Impressions worldwide. The film itself garnered 64 million views. It has also increased engagement by 5X. (Source:Facebook Analytics). The value share of brand has also gone up by 11% in comparison to last year. The ‘Sons #ShareTheLoad’ movement has significantly helped offtake (sales) increase 125%on value, 138% on volume - vs Year Ago But most importantly it helped spark lasting change in mindsets When #ShareTheLoad was launched in 2014, 79% of the men thought laundry was a women's job. Today that number

Please tell us how you designed/adapted your campaign for the single country / region / market where it aired.

There is a new India in the making, where daughters are being raised to be independent and contribute to the households (76% of girls being enrolled into secondary education as on 2016 vs. just 37% in 2000. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics). But the way sons are raised remains unchanged. They are pampered and are never expected do the housework making them dependent at home. Whereas daughters, though excelling professionally today are always expected to take off from their jobs the moment the housework becomes demanding as their partners have no clue how to do the housework. We decided to challenge this socially corrosive gender bias by creating Sons #ShareTheLoad – a provocative social movement urging parents to inculcate the importance of doing the housework in young boys so that both sons and daughters realise their full potential - washing away the stain of inequality at home starting today

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