Dive Brief:
- Proctor & Gamble released a new short film, "Love Over Bias," 100 days before the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea. The 1:30 video highlights moms who advocated and supported their children's' dreams in the wake of prejudice, taking inspiration from the stories of Olympic athletes Gus Kenworthy, Elana Meyers Taylor, Michelle Kwan, Oksana Masters and Zahra Lari, according to a press release.
- Part of the CPG's larger "Thank You, Mom" campaign, the video tells six vignettes around the challenges these athletes faced as seen from the perspective of their mothers. These include stories of a girl coming from a culture where femininity is at odds with competition; a boy dreaming of competing in a sport that his parents struggle to afford and kids of different races, religions and sexual orientations who look at their teammates and see no one who looks like them.
- P&G surveyed this year's Olympians via the International Olympic Committee and found that 55% felt prejudice or judgment while growing up; 53% reported their mom was their strongest advocate in the face of bias and 99% said what helped them become an Olympic athlete was their mom's constant support.
Dive Insight:
P&G's latest video capitalizes on the excitement heading into next year's Winter Games, providing timely content with a focus on narrative and a socially-conscious message that tugs on the heartstrings as opposed to simply peddling the brand's products. The short will run in full, as well as in abbreviated versions, on TV and YouTube in more than 20 countries ahead of the Olympic Games' kickoff on Feb. 9, 2018. The dedicated hashtag #LoveOverBias will serve as a hub for user-generated content on social media, furthering the spread of P&G's positive message and brand.
The CPG also plans to produce additional videos highlighting the individual journeys of athletes including Kenworthy, a 2014 medalist and one of the first openly gay skiers, and Meyers Taylor, a two-time medalist who was one of the first women to pilot a mixed-gender bobsled, per the release.
This isn't the CPG giant's first attempt at linking itself to the Olympics, as the Games continue to be a massive TV draw and are only growing more popular on digital channels as well. The newest video and larger "Thank You, Mom" campaign are part of P&G's ongoing effort to use its advertising to spark conversations around topics like gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. That strategy taps into the recent uptick of socially-conscious marketing.
With these types of efforts, marketers walk a fine line in potentially laying it on too thick or coming across as disingenuous by inserting their brand into real-world and often sensitive or even highly-politicized issues. Love Over Bias, for its part, manages to strike the right balance by focusing on the real-world stories of athletes and their mothers overcoming obstacles to triumph.
