Ad Analysis 2 – P&G’s “Thank You, Mom!” Campaign during 2012 London Olympics

By Nakul Patel (Roll No. 92)

The showpiece of the London 2012 campaign was a 2-minute commercial by award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu, titled Best Job (above), which was filmed for P&G on four continents with local actors and athletes from London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing. It was a repeated campaign which was introduced originally during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The P&G Thank You Mom campaign recognized and celebrated the moms behind the athletes by thanking moms for all they do, and was a part of P&G’s worldwide partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was the biggest campaign in P&G’s 175-year history, and ran through the end of the Olympic Games.

P&G also sponsored more than 150 athletes, who will be featured in advertising and retail campaigns to generate sales and donations that will help support youth sports. Among the world class athletes sponsored by P&G and its brands were:

•  Michael Phelps : Head & Shoulders
•  Paula Radcliffe : Fairy and Pampers
•  Roger Federer : Gillette
•  Jessica Ennis : Olay
•  Lin Dan : Gillette

Ad Analysis

Target Audience & Objective

This is one ad for which you cannot have a target audience. This ad was aimed at everybody and nobody. The main motto of the ad was to build the brand, and connect every single viewer of the ad to the Brand. It wasn’t a “brand-centric” ad that used network television commercials to demonstrate how its products are superior to rivals.

We can crack this in reflection of the two properties – brand prominence and brand self-connection.

Brand Prominence – The idea of brand prominence is that the cognitive and affective bond between the brand and self is reflected by the perceived ease and frequency with which brand-related throughts and feelings are brought to mind. P&G’s campaign will be accepted by most of the population regardless of ages, gender, and race.

Brand Self-connection – A consumer forms a sense of self with the brand by incorporating the brand as part of self. Briefly, the consumer will link himself or herself cognitively to the brand. P&G “Thank You Mom” can be regarded as an extension of the successful establishment of brand-self connection. In this commercial, the brand doesn’t appear until the every end with the logo and proud sponsor of mom as the ending. Most of use will link the brand to self as a kid or as a mom.

The commercial starts with a serial of shots that kids show up in different Olympic occasions from press meeting to the start point of the game. Then a worried mom’s face shows up in the auditorium. At the end of the story, it appears a line of text “to their moms, they’ll always be kids.” By perceiving the self representation from the campaign, consumers establish cognitive links to connect the brand with self. It reminds people of the moment when their moms were watching their performance or competition in the past. In addition, emotional resonance of mom’s love will also be aroused. Though cognitive in its representation, this brand-self linkage is inherently emotional. The connection could be established successfully because it not only represents an individual as kid or mom but also makes it meaningful in light of motherhood. Therefore, consumers complete the process of brand-self connection emotionally and cognitively.

Execution

The Thank You Mom campaign was brought to life through a variety of media channels and in-store with a worldwide retailer program which began in April and will run through August. Olympic Games-themed P&G branded products were featured in millions of stores across the globe. As a part of the P&G Thank You Mom campaign, P&G committed to raise $5 million to support local youth sports programs in many countries.

A clever stratagem to establish an emotional connection with the consumer, P&G indeed touched on possibly the most sensitive and strongest of relationships. It worked quite well too because everyone wants to show their gratitude to their mothers. With a copy that brings a lump to one’s throat, this P&G advert did work really well.