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By Tony Connelly, Sports Marketing Reporter

April 27, 2016 | 3 min read

Procter and Gamble has unveiled the latest instalment in its ‘Thank you Mum’ Olympic campaign with 2012 gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill.

With the Rio Olympics now 100 days away official Olympic worldwide partner P&G is stepping up its campaign that pays tribute to those who have contributed so much to the success of the athletes' mums.

As part of its ‘Thank You Mum’ campaign, the new ‘Strong’ ad sheds light on the difficult journey Olympic athletes undertake and the crucial emotional support which mothers offer them.

Ennis-Hill serves as a brand ambassador for P&G-owned Pampers, Olay and Venus and has helped promote the campaign message in the UK which began on Mothers Day.

Discussing the support which she has received from her own mum the track and field athlete said: “I really don’t believe I would have been able to achieve any of my World, Olympic or European medals without the support and strength of my mum throughout my life.

“That’s even truer now as I’m juggling the very different but equally important challenges of being a mum myself to an energetic toddler and my full-on preparations for Rio 2016. She is the most amazing Grandma and plays a key role in helping to look after Reggie when I am training and Andy is working.”

Ennis-Hill continued: “There have been lots of times in training when you feel ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore’. You’re really fatigued physically and mentally, preparing for an Olympic Games is a really stressful thing and you think to yourself ‘Can I do this?’ or ‘Do I want to do this?’ My mum always just says ‘You can do it, it is going to be hard but if you have a hard journey to something, that’s not plain sailing, then the end point is always that much sweeter when you are successful.”

The new “Thank you, Mum” campaign video, builds on the brand’s tradition of storytelling seen in previous P&G Olympic campaigns: “Pick them back up”; “Kids” and “Best job”.

P&G global brand officer, Marc Pritchard, said the campaign began with the insight that behind every athlete is an amazing mum.

“Being the proud sponsor of mums is natural way for us to look at the games because P&G brands are part of the journey mums of Olympians, and all mums, take with their kids every day,” said Pritchard.

He added: “We see how strong mums are in every facet of their lives, and how their children draw on that strength as they grow. Through our campaign, we invite everyone to join us in saying ‘Thank you’ to mums for the role they play in raising strong children.”

Directed by Jeff Nichols, whose work includes the recently released, Midnight Special, the two-minute long ‘Strong’ will air on TV in more than 30 countries.

Olympics Procter & Gamble (P&G) Jessica Ennis-Hill

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