Procter & Gamble is running a “Thanks, Mom” campaign as part of their sponsorship of the USA Olympics team at Vancouver 2010. The advertising campaign highlights the role of mothers and provides them help with travel expenses. The campaign adds to its earlier support of the team with sponsorship dollars, a Vancouver family meeting place and advertising deals with such stars as skier Lindsey Vonn and speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno. The television and online commercials can be found on the Thanks Mom YouTube channel. Here’s the best of the bunch. To their moms, Team USA athletes will always be kids…
Click on the image below to play the Kids video in YouTube (HD)
Click on the image below to play the Never Walk Alone video in YouTube (HD)
P&G is paying for the Vancouver Olympics Family Home, which serves as a meeting place for athletes and families to watch events, eat, and pick up tickets. Athletes with children in diapers can try out a new version of Pampers.
Click on the image below to play the Family Housewarming Party video in YouTube (HD)
In “No Mom left behind”, the company has offered athletes’ mothers or another key figure in team members’ lives pre-loaded debit cards to help with expenses. Amounts weren’t disclosed, but P&G officials described them as significant.
Credits
The Thanks Mom campaign was developed at Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, by executive creative directors Mark Fitzloff and Susan Hoffman, creative directors Eric Baldwin and Jason Bagley, copywriter Lark Lieberman, art director Ryan O’Rourke, agency executive producer Ben Grylewicz, agency producer Shelley Eisner.
Filming for “Kids” was shot by director Daniel Kleinman via Epoch Films, Los Angeles, and Rattling Stick, London, with executive producer Jerry Solomon, line producers Johnnie Frankel and Jennifer Barrons, and director of photography Carl Nilsson.
Editor was Kirk Baxter at Rock Paper Scissors with post executive producer Carol Lynn Weaver and post producer Tricia Sanzero Butler.
Visual effects were produced at A52 by VFX supervisor/Flame artist Patrick Murphy and VFX producer Megan Meloth. Titles and graphics were produced at Brand New School.
Music and sound design were produced at Future Perfect by composer John Connolly and sound designer Brian Emrich at Trinitite Studios. Sound was mixed by Jeff Payne at Eleven Sound.
“Never Walk Alone” was shot by director Dante Ariola via MJZ with executive producer Jeff Scruton, line producer Nathalie Hill, and director of photography Fred Elmes. Editor Adam Pertofsky at Rock Paper Scissors with post producer Suzy Ramirez and post executive producer Linda Carlson.
Visual effects were produced at A52 by Flame artist Andy McKenna, VFX producer Erin Sullivan. Titles and graphics were produced at Brand New School.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone”, by Rodgers & Hammerstein, was performed by Shirley Bassey, and edited at Stimmung by producer Ceinwyn Clark.
Dear P&G
I read today that P&G is the proud sponsor of Olympic contender’s Moms with its “Thanks Mom” campaign developed by W&K.
As a father, I am offended by this blatant, sexist, and deliberate slight to fathers. It compounds the social problem of the denigration of fathers, and is a very public statement that fathers are disposable, unnecessary, and irrelevant. It is particularly disconcerting when in both the United States and Canada, that fathers do not walk out on their families nearly to the extent that mothers push the fathers out unilaterally, and then do their level best to poison children against their own fathers. It is a very real social problem, and is compounded by your biased anti-father, pro-mom campaign.
It is particularly ironic in the face of the fact that Apolo Anton Ohno was sponsored by the “Thanks Mom” campaign, that his own mother walked out on him when he was a young child, and that he was raised by his father.
You should know that men and fathers are very tired of being slighted, made fun of, denigrated, unmentioned, and taken for granted.
I, for one, will do my level best to avoid P&G products whenever possible as the direct result of this campaign, and I will tell everyone I know to do the same.
I sincerely hope that in the future you consider uplifting everyone instead of only mothers or women.
Best regards for your better choices in the future,
Chris
You’re clearly unappreciated by your family, Chris, and that’s unfortunate. I’d sincerely suggest that you let your family know that their lack of appreciation hurts your feelings. No bs. I think parents, mothers and fathers both, are often taken for granted by each other and their children. Some fathers and mothers thrive off of appreciation, while others would do everything expected of them and more without a lick of thanks or acknowledgment.
I’d sincerely suggest that you refrain from telling anyone that noticing and appreciating a female parent is sexist, unless of course you don’t mind women saying the same when a company goes out of their way to campaign fathers. A little grace goes a long way.
It wouldn’t hurt anyone to be appreciated or acknowledged a little more in this society, whether it be mothers or fathers.
Regards,
Heather, a thankful daughter.
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Wow. What a stupid sexist commercial. I appreciate my mom as much as the next guy but I was raised in a two parent home -- my DAD and mom. Not just my mom. So this whole “oh, it’s only mothers who raise Olympians or it’s only moms who care about their children” is just more BS propaganda. When possible, I will try to avoid buying any of their products. What a bunch of dopes!