Mums are hot. We get it, but can we move on?
P&G’s ‘Thank You, Mum’ Olympic campaign was viewed favourably by the sponsorship industry when it launched at the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. It was a rare example of a brand exploiting some ‘white space’ around the rings, amid the huge clutter from official partners and ambushers.
It even got the backing of Mumsnet, which gave the company an award.
P&G was praised for its commitment not to use peer-to-peer marketing or child brand ambassadors. Roisin Donnelly, head of marketing at P&G says: “We are delighted to be recognised by Mumsnet and its Family Friendly programme. This is a truly exciting programme which we believe can make a real difference.”
As you can imagine, this caused a bit of a stir among some of the blogging mothers on the site:
Anyone else a bit cynical about this and think that P&G have basically ‘bought’ the award. My best friend and husband used to work there (how i met him) and I can guarantee they are anything BUT family friendly to work for!!!
But the sponsor industry is never one to let a nice idea pass without copying it and it was inevitable that there would be followers, trying to leverage some mother love for themselves. First up, fridge and washing machine brand Beko, which had Kirsty Gallagher fronting a Facebook campaign straight from the P&G playbook:
Beko Mums United was created as the first ever social hub where mums help other mums get more from a family life dominated by football – more for their kids, their families…and themselves.
So there we have it. 2012, the year of the MILF.
The whole Mums thing is a clever bit of marketing for sure. But is there anyone else who thinks it a bit depressing, at a time when women athletes attract less than 5% of total sponsorship spend. P&G is using its enormous brand reach to reinforce the stereotype that a women’s role is to support and nurture their (probably male) children’s sporting ambitions. Get back in the kitchen, love.
Richard Gillis writes for The Wall Street Journal. This post was taken from the Unofficial Partner blog. To read more visit www.unofficialpartner.co.uk and follow @RichardGillis1 on Twitter