One year into COVID, many groups had been recognized for how hard the pandemic hit them (and rightfully so) — immuno-compromised, frontline workers, teachers, and kids. But the expectation to perform at 100% seemed to be amplified with parents. Parents couldn’t find support or encouragement anywhere and what they needed was to understand that even in the hardest of times their love was exactly what their children needed. Pampers entered the conversation to show parents some love with the #MillionActsofLove campaign.
The campaign was designed to help Pampers live into their brand purpose and rally support for parents in a critical period of need. We needed to let as many parents as possible know that Pampers sees and supports them And we wanted to make it personal. We knew it wasn’t enough to just tell parents that we see their struggles. We needed to actually rally people to offer meaningful support. The #MillionActsofLove challenge needed to inspire people with specific things they could do to support and uplift the moms in their lives on and around Mother’s Day.
With this campaign, our creative idea brought support and encouragement to the forefront of the cultural conversation around parental burnout. By reframing “I’ve got nothing left to give” to “I’ve given exactly what my child needs” Pampers delivered a powerful message. We acknowledged that parenting can be hard and that it does come with losses — of freedom, of time, of self. And we reminded parents that facing those challenges with grace and love is exactly what makes them a parent. Love is what makes the difference — in what parents and Pampers do every day.
We set out to bring the power of love to life. To show parents that even though these days are not easy, in the end, it’s all worth it. Pampers wanted to show support for parents, especially moms, that according to The New York Times, might feel betrayed by society.
On Mother’s Day 2021, Pampers debuted a one-minute film inspired by the classic children’s book, The Velveteen Rabbit. The story’s message is while loving others does come with sacrifice, that love changes us for the better. Pampers’ When A Child Loves You film looks at the story through the lens of a parent’s journey and speaks to how the challenges of parenting reveal what they’re truly made of — love.
We also teamed up with mom and entrepreneur, Shay Mitchell, to kick off the new #MillionActsofLove movement, designed to inspire parents and remind them of their infinite capacity for love.
#MillionActsofLove encouraged everyone to share small acts of kindness to support the parents in their lives. Pampers activated this campaign across social and digital channels including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest. Loved ones and friends of parents everywhere were able to share digital love notes, offers of help, and more.
The media mix was carefully chosen for our audience to ensure we had multiple touchpoints to strengthen our emotional connection with parents when they were most in need of encouragement. And it worked.
Within the first week, the #MillionActsofLove campaign exceeded all goals. Pampers had delivered a message that resonated deeply with parents, providing them with support and encouragement in a time they needed it most. The online film kicked off the campaign while our social activations extended the love across platforms and encouraged small acts of kindness towards parents.
In the end, Pampers really showed up for parents, providing support and encouragement and asking family and friends to do the same during a critical period of need resulting in 99% positive sentiment around the campaign.
One mom shared the following on Twitter “Omg the Pampers commercial made me cry… HAVE YOU SEEN IT? Oh wowza.” And it resonated with dads too — as one dad tweeted “Dude, love the YouTube @Pampers commercial. Really tugged on my heart. As a daddy of four little ones, that was probably the only ad on YouTube I haven’t just skipped. Well done pampers, lots of love.”
