MUMBAI: Come Mother’s Day - and kids and families across the country rack their brains as to how they can make the day special for ‘The most special lady in their lives’. Kids and dads make come together to cook a special Sunday breakfast, clean up their rooms, even help her do the laundry. It is great to see all this effort come through on the special day… But come Monday, and life goes back to normal, mom is again back to doing all the household chores alone, the room is messy, and laundry is most definitely HER job.
This Mother’s Day, Ariel – India’s leading detergent brand, brought forth a simple, yet thought provoking point - why do we only think about helping our moms on special days and not share the load every day? While the internet kept ablaze as thousands of people and multiple brands came forward to express their gratitude to their mothers for all that they have done for them, this unique wish by Ariel stood out. A short 6 second video was all it took for Ariel to encourage kids and dads to not just #ShareTheLoad this Mother’s Day, but #ShareTheLoad every day.
https://www.facebook.com/ArielCompleteIndia/videos/1689451074476308/
Ariel has been endorsing the cause of equality within the household through its #ShareTheLoad campaign since 2015, which has been its most rewarded and prestigious movement on social equality. Research shows that more than 70% of children today believe that household chores like laundry is only a mother’s job. This prejudice of household inequality is being passed down from one generation to the next. Thus, Ariel took up the cause and has been an advocate for the women in urging men to ShareTheLoad, because with Ariel, you get superior stain removal in 1 wash, no matter who does the laundry. The movement, dedicated to addressing the cycle of gender prejudiced, has been sparking conversations across multiple touchpoints, leading to a massive participation from consumers, with 2+ million having come forth and pledging their support to the cause.
The unique Mother’s Day wish this year was shared initially on Ariel’s website and social media handles but quickly gained momentum as influencers like Huma Qureshi, Karan Wahi, etc. also took to Instagram and Facebook to share the video, tagging their moms and pledging to #ShareTheLoad every day. The wish has garnered 1.5 million views on Facebook and ~3000 shares so far.
This is a person who never takes a day off. She works tirelessly without complaint and takes care of the family with a pleasant smile and an endearing heart. She deserves much more than just a day of celebration and sharing her load. Ariel India took to this emotion, and drove the message of #SharingTheLoad on a regular basis, and imbibing it as a habit instead of picking few occasions to do so. It also sends out a very powerful message to parents to inculcate the value of sharing the load in their children from the very beginning, thus breaking the cycle of conditioning and moving their family towards a more equal household.
Let’s take the spirit of #ShareTheLoad and imbibe it into our daily lives - Happy Mother’s Day… Everyday.
