5 of the best Mother’s Day ads from KFC to P&G
There’s been some incredible Mother’s Day campaigns throughout the years. Ones that make you shed a tear, others that evoke laughter and some that are just that little bit too relatable. This Sunday, families up and down the UK will be celebrating the incredible women in their lives. Here are some of our favorite campaigns honoring mums from the past decade.
KFC’s Chickendales by Wieden+Kennedy / KFC
P&G: Best Job by Wieden+Kennedy Portland (2012)
Premiering during the London 2012 Olympic Games, this spot from Proctor & Gamble credited mums for the pivotal role that they play in developing young athletes.
From swimming to running and even gymnastics, mothers are there at the sidelines cheering on their kids with kind words of encouragement, being their kids’ biggest cheerleaders.
The ad was directed by Alejandro González Iñárrituon and and featured local actors and athletes from London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing.
Kraft: Swear Like a Mother by CP+B Boulder (2017)
Mums are human – believe it or not – and every so often they probably want to curse at their kids. Tapping into the ‘perfectly imperfect’ way of parenting, Kraft Mac & Cheese worked alongside Melissa Mohr, author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing, on alternative swear words moms can use around the little ones to prevent parenting fails.
Cleverly, to coincide with the ad, the food brand also launched Mother’s Day cards complete with ‘fail-cancelling earplugs’ on the off chance children do overhear some choice words.
KFC: Chickendales by Wieden+Kennedy (2019)
Mum-friendly erotic dance troupe the Chippendales served as the inspiration for KFC’s 2019 Mother’s Day spot featuring a sexy shirtless Colonel Sanders.
The hot and heavy moves come with the message ‘how does it feel to be the coolest mum in the world?’ as the dancers strip down to their underwear. All bets are off toward the end as the video commences with the group dancing around inside buckets of chicken.
Google: Hey Mom, thank you (2019)
At times, being a mum can be a thankless job. Having young kids running around screaming for your attention can often feel relentless. A few years ago, Google played into this very relatable family dynamic with a short film highlighting different scenarios where children are vying for their mothers’ attention.
With each cry the mums respond with lots of patience, as well as offering a helping hand. The touching final scene shows one woman who has become a little overwhelmed and needs to call her own mother for some moral support.
Carhartt: The Shift That Never Ends by Carhartt (2021)
Every mother knows that trying to balance work and home life can be a struggle. After a full day on the job, the mom shift starts immediately back at home and it can be exhausting. Workwear brand Carhartt sought to emphasize this in its 2021 Mother’s Day spot, which features real-world laborer moms – farmers, welders, electricians – who spend their days on the farm or on a job site.
Directed by Pam Thomas through Community Films and created by Carhartt’s in-house agency, the film pays homage to those women whose lives straddle hard physical work and the tenderness of being a mom.