The detergent brand Ariel, owned by Procter & Gamble, in India has been committed to promoting gender equality through its advertising movement #ShareTheLoad since 2015. By raising uncomfortable questions such as why men cannot do laundry or why parents are not teaching their sons to pick up the laundry basket, Ariel has been urging its consumers to think about the unequal distribution of household chores. In addition, the brand has also been encouraging brands, media partners, and content creators to portray women more positively in advertising.
Nine years into the movement, Ariel is now asking deeper questions by highlighting the emotional distance that inequality in household chores can create in relationships. According to a survey shared by the company, 65 percent of women feel emotionally distant from their partners due to the burden of chores solely falling on them. This distance often leads to a breakdown of communication between partners. The survey also revealed that 78 percent of women feel like withdrawing from their relationship due to the workload, while 74 percent have given up on talking about sharing household chores. However, 93 percent of couples believe that doing chores together can improve their relationship.
Ariel’s new ad film reflects the experiences of many couples who continue to face inequality in their relationships. By asking men whether they are growing together or apart from their partners, the brand hopes to encourage more equal distribution of household chores and promote healthier relationships. Ariel’s commitment to its brand purpose of promoting gender equality is a testament to its long-term vision and dedication to bringing about change consistently year after year.
Decoding the creative process
In an interview with Storyboard18, Sharat Verma, chief marketing officer, P&G India, and vice president – Fabric Care, P&G Indian subcontinent and Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India, share that the movement has been able to voice the right message and tonality because there is no template. The brand and agency team have been living with this continuum of the movement and working together to discover hidden truths that can help add nuanced line of thoughts to the campaign.
Paul explains the creative process. “Every year, we are like an antenna trying to receive what is happening in society. Over the last six months, all of us have been constantly sharing what we’ve been hearing, mostly things that are coming out of our own personal observations and our own life stories.” It is then processed and tabled with experts like counsellors and subject matter experts to help them read the gather information carefully.
“There is always something that comes out through this process that’s striking. An area where Ariel could create some sort of resolution. As we receive this and we then quantify it and add other qualitative understanding. That’s how the process plays out. It’s about keeping your eyes and ears open,” adds Paul.
He calls the whole creative process a circular one, and not linear. “It’s always about exploration, discovery, and convergence.”
On the other hand, Verma, says, the challenge of a campaign of this nature is to get a lot of things right. Right from the tone of the ad script to the kind of relationships that the brand want to tap into, detailing is critically for a campaign of this sorts.
Committing to a purpose
Verma strongly believes brand purpose cannot be seasonal. According to him, if a brand stands for a purpose it’s “not only the right thing to do for society, but also the right for the business.” He believes, brands have to be consistent and can’t have a different purpose every year. “Social and cultural change takes years. Consumers really can see through lip service. We can’t have women doing laundry in our advertising, and then talk about purpose and gender equality,” he opines.
Paul and his team are co-partners in building this movement. He tells Storyboard18, “Purpose is really all about commitment. This is why we say create acts not ads because you know an ad is a promise, an act is a commitment.” Power of time is equally important when brands and agencies come together for long-term projects like these, concludes Paul.