So while I was enjoying my 100th plus hour of Curling on CNBC I started be become more and more aware of the multi facets of Procter and Gamble Olympic advertising campaign, and how they decided to utilize their power over decision makers the world over. It is a proven fact that the majority of products one buys are the brands that our parents purchased when we were growing up. So it is BRILLIANT that Procter and Gamble created and Olympic campaign that was directed towards moms and thus indirectly aimed towards their children.
The television spots created for the Olympics were an ode to moms everywhere and what they do for us. “The Never Walk Alone” spot showed moms singing never walk alone while they went through all stages of our lives. From the day they were born to our school age years to the countless hours of support while they watched their kids train to become great athletes. Finally it showed their kids competing in the Olympics. The commercial is very powerful and moving and set the ground work for the rest of the advertising campaign.
The “To their moms they will always be kids” television spot showed kids about 7-10 years old in their full on Olympic competition attire. The spots starts with them heading to Vancouver, and then going to the opening ceremonies. It moves on to show the kids getting ready for their event and at the starting position for various Olympic events from figure skating, to speed skating to bobsled. As anyone who has a mom knows, no matter how old we are, our parents have a hard time seeing us as adults and they fall back into the mode of parenting us when we were kids. This commercial is a perfect representation of this.
What makes the whole campaign so BRILLIANT is not only did they do the typical Olympic advertising; they also had on-site support for the Olympic athletes families. P&G created a village where families could spend time with their Olympic athletes’. Within the village were rooms that were decorated for each family so they could feel at home and comfortable while they were in Vancouver. Case in point, P&G had a room for Evan Lysacek’s mother stayed during his performance, since she has never been in the skating rink during his competitions. She was able to sit in a private room and watch his performance on the TV in the room. Then when he had finished she was rushed to the venue to celebrate with him. Brilliant!!!
The way that P&G created and executed the campaign so flawlessly I am sure will defiantly ensure product loyalty for years and years to come. I cannot wait to see what they do in two years for the Summer Olympics in London.
As always let me know your thoughts.
Kathy
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Oh Boy...don't get me started on this. I am a father of two awesome boys. I actually got very sick of seeing the P&G commercials by the end of the Olympics. No question that the advertisement itself is very moving and emotional and they have don't incredible things for the families of Olympic athletes.
ReplyDeleteMy beef is that the ad speaks only to mothers, which totally alienated a large portion of the population that also supports child athletes. What about the fathers? In my opinion, by excluding men, P&G seems to be reinforcing that only women really care about their children and only women deserve P&G acknowledgement. I understand that women is their target market for most of the products that P&G offers but they could have creatively incorporated the efforts that fathers have in their Olympic hopefuls. What about those men secure enough to stand up to the stereotypes, becoming highly involved in their children's lives and maybe even purchase these "female-only" products?
I see this as a marketing blunder. They had a VERY unique opportunity to capture the male shopper and expanding their customer range. It is NO secret that they already own the female market. In marketing you need to use daily communications focused to your core consumers but use unique events, like the Olympics to expand their customer footprint. If anything, the messaging was somewhat confusing during the Olympics. In one hand they have the "Thank You Mom" commercials and on the other hand they have the rooms and recreational areas for families of Olympians to enjoy. I am assuming it included the Dads of these Olympians and not just the Moms.
P&G had the right idea by honoring the families who go out of their way to support their kids but it didn't connect with their messaging. I thought it was a commitment to families and not just mom. I believe that the commercials would have been just as effective if the tagline were altered a bit: "To their parents, they will always be kids. Proud Sponsor of Parents".
Ahhhh....and one more thing but won't go into detail.....aren't they reinforcing the stereotype that only women are the only ones that should be cleaning, changing diapers, etc.? Just saying!!
Carlos