~Kolla Krishna Madhavi
The question for the mothers out there, "Are we teaching our sons what we've been teaching our daughters?".
Ariel's 'Sons #ShareTheLoad' television commercial carries forward Ariel's #ShareTheLoad award-winning campaign. The new edition's intent is equally clear and the mind shift that it is promoting could well be a new year resolution for many mothers.
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| Ariel India Son #ShareTheLoad Courtesy: Ariel India, Mumbrella Asia |
"We teach our daughters to stand on their feet but don't teach our sons to lend a helping hand."
The ad conceived by BBDO Mumbai and directed by Gauri Shinde raises pertinent questions on social conditioning and gender inequality within households. A mother is talking to her married daughter, Riu and catching up with her household work as well. She is indulgently cleaning up her college-going son's messy room while he is sitting on the bed, eating and playing on his phone.
The mother is surprised to hear that Riu has left a good job where she was performing well because she was not able to balance her work with her household chores. The mother questions her unseen daughter as to why her son-in-law, Aakash was not pitching in. She is taken aback to hear that Aakash doesn't know how to do household work.
There is a brief pause, then the mother looks at her son and realises her mistake. She asks Riu to rethink about leaving her job and that she will speak with her again later in the evening.
The mother starts gathering the clothes littered all over the floor for a wash. Her son asks her what happened and why his sister quit her job. The mother replies that she made a mistake and is now trying to rectify it. She hands over the basket of dirty laundry to her son who follows her to the washing machine. The next scene cuts to him putting on the washing machine while his mother guides him.
The ad is focused on sons 'lending a helping hand' but fundamentally, both partners in a household should be equally responsible for doing 'ghar ka kaam'. And the message would have been far stronger if the mother had asked her son to pick up after himself before leading him to the washing machine.
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| Ariel India Son #ShareTheLoad Courtesy: Ariel India, Campaigns of the World |
The mother is surprised to hear that Riu has left a good job where she was performing well because she was not able to balance her work with her household chores. The mother questions her unseen daughter as to why her son-in-law, Aakash was not pitching in. She is taken aback to hear that Aakash doesn't know how to do household work.
There is a brief pause, then the mother looks at her son and realises her mistake. She asks Riu to rethink about leaving her job and that she will speak with her again later in the evening.
The mother starts gathering the clothes littered all over the floor for a wash. Her son asks her what happened and why his sister quit her job. The mother replies that she made a mistake and is now trying to rectify it. She hands over the basket of dirty laundry to her son who follows her to the washing machine. The next scene cuts to him putting on the washing machine while his mother guides him.
 |
| Ariel India Sons #ShareTheLoad Courtesy: Ariel India, YouTube |
The ad is focused on sons 'lending a helping hand' but fundamentally, both partners in a household should be equally responsible for doing 'ghar ka kaam'. And the message would have been far stronger if the mother had asked her son to pick up after himself before leading him to the washing machine.
While there is a great shift in the thought process with more and more mothers teaching their daughters to be independent and equal partners in their married life, there is still a fair amount of disparity that needs to be bridged as sons are simultaneously not being taught to share household chores.
Ariel India Sons #ShareTheLoad
Video Courtesy: Ariel India, BBDO
Image Courtesy: Ariel India, BBDO Mumbai, Google Images and other online resources.
Video Courtesy: Ariel India, BBDO Mumbai, YouTube and other online resources.
Resources:
https://www.exchange4media.com/advertising-news/ariels-sharetheload-campaign-back-with-a-bang-94341.html
https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/54311_This-time-PGs-Ariel-tells-sons-to-Share-the-Load
https://www.socialsamosa.com/2019/01/ariel-sons-sharetheload/
http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/marketing/mam/ariel-s-new-film-addressing-household-inequality-garnered-15mm-views-190208
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/ariel-reignites-conversations-on-household-inequality-with-a-new-campaign-sons-sharetheload/67706597
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