Frida Golden Globes ad earns praise for showing unfiltered reality of breastfeeding
You may not be anywhere near the office water cooler right now, but we still want to spotlight creative that should be on your radar. Today, we look at a spot from parent products company Frida, which is being lauded for showing the real struggles of the ‘fourth trimester’.
The raw reality of breastfeeding is laid bare by parent products provider Frida Mom, which has charted the emotional and physical highs and lows of lactation.
Casting aside societal prudishness, the breast care campaign throws a spotlight on everyday issues by offering tips and remedies such as massaging out clogged ducts with an electric toothbrush and stemming flow with cabbage leaves.
Designed to reassure new mothers that help is at hand, the head-on campaign tackles issues that others shy away from, including raw nipples, uterine contractions and painful clogs.
At the heart of this message is ‘Stream of Lactation‘, a video that seeks to normalize the act of breastfeeding by depicting a variety of real postpartum mothers dealing with the challenges of nursing their babies their way.
First aired during the Golden Globes, a 30-second edit of the video was broadcast to households across America and is the first known commercial to picture lactating breasts on television – albeit with nipples removed to comply with broadcaster NBC‘s standards.
In a statement to the New York Times, NBCUniversal wrote: ”We agree that the ad may push the envelope, but it is the context surrounding the visuals that makes this ad different, and we stand by it.”
Frida chief exec Chelsea Hirschhorn said: ”The reality is that women are unprepared and blindsided by the physicality of lactation/breastfeeding. No one tells you that it can be as painful as your vaginal recovery. The anthem video is a universal depiction of the realities that women and their breasts – breastfeeding or not – go through postpartum.”
The boundary-breaking commercial follows a major global brand campaign for Tommee Tippee by Manifest that illustrates the unvarnished truth behind breastfeeding.
This no holds barred approach ultimately proved too controversial for some, however, with Facebook, YouTube and broadcasters all refusing to platform ‘The Boob Life‘ for displaying ‘excessive visible skin‘.
Such sensibilities drew accusations of sexism from Tommee Tippee, which argued that only by showcasing the reality of chapped nipples and swollen breasts can young mothers prepare themselves for breastfeeding.
Check out The Drum’s special Health hub, which examines how the key players – from health agencies to pharma firms to brands – are doing their part to return the world to normality.
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