Mother's Day in China - the good, bad & ugly campaigns reflecting societal changes

With Mother's Day happening last Sunday, the role of mothers was once again brought into the spotlight. In recent years, with the awakening of female consciousness and the progress of social attitudes, the individuality of mothers has been increasingly emphasized. More and more people realize that mothers should not be solely associated with housework and childcare. Before becoming a mother, a woman is first and foremost herself.

Brands' Mother's Day marketing in China are now much less likely to pedestalise the role of mothers, nor do they just praise with accolades. Instead, most marketing aims to liberate mothers from secular constraints and affirm their own needs and values. In this overarching trend, brands this year are striving to establish emotional connections with the wider community, delving into the "depth" of resonance within their hearts.

On last year's Mother's Day, "sharing household chores" was a topic of concern for many brands. This year, an increasing number of brands focused on the themes of liberating mothers from their maternal and identity constraints. They encouraged mothers to break free from the confines of their roles on Mother's Day, to better be themselves, and to love themselves. From slogan-like declarations to tangible actions, brands are gradually promoting a shift in societal attitudes, helping mothers break free from the "duties of motherhood."

Babycare

The mother and baby brand Babycare launched a short film titled "Don't Call Me Mum Today" on Mother's Day, which featured actress Zhang Yuqi advocating for mothers to take a day off. This reversal of perspective sets a tone of independent thinking and taking a clear stance.

From the moment of pregnancy, the short film replays every moment that makes mothers feel overwhelmed and stressed, offering sharp insights into discomfort and reality. The submission of a leave application allows mothers to shed all their burdens, shouting to the world, "Don't call me Mom today," replacing it with the multifaceted roles that every woman has the right to pursue.

Towards the end, Babycare also reflects on its past efforts regarding the role of mothers. Not only on Mother's Day but also on World Maternal Health Day, Babycare promotes knowledge about painless childbirth and renames "mother and baby rooms" to "infant care rooms," breaking gender biases associated with motherhood, demonstrating the brand's genuine care for mothers on a daily basis.

Baby care’s “Don’t call me mum today” campaign. Source: RED/Xiaohongshu

Baby care's "don't call me mum today" video campaign with Zhang Yuqi from Baby Care's Weibo account

L'Oréal Paris

L'Oréal Paris themed its Mother’s Day event as "MAMA GAP DAY," creating an adorable pop-up store in Shanghai. It aimed to help mums escape from the daily chores of taking care of children, to pause their busy and compact lives, and to celebrate a "quirky and cute" Mother's Day together, inviting them to relax.

During the pop-up event, a mini kiosk provided mums with a "GAP DAY" activity guide; a storage area offered opportunities for crafts, painting, and reading picture books. Upstairs, there were professional SPA and makeup services where mums could experience L'Oréal facial/hand SPAs for free and dress up for photos on-site.

By completing specific tasks, mums can also receive various rewards such as photo stickers, ice cream and balloons, allowing them to fully enjoy their time on this day. Meanwhile, the brand also encouraged dads to join in, taking care of the kids on this day to give mums enough time to be themselves, turning Mother's Day into a family interactive "GAP DAY."

L’Oreal’s Mother’s Day campaign this year - Mama Gap Day. Source: RED/Xiaohongshu

AIMER

The expressions of liberating motherhood come in both sharp and cute forms. The "Mum's Escape Plan" initiated by the brand AIMER has sparked discussions. Unlike glorifying hard work and sacrifice, AIMER hopes to give the spotlight back to moms in a relaxed manner. Therefore, through a themed recruitment campaign on RED, the brand set up an offline "escape" route for "mums" in Beijing, urging mothers to take care of themselves, temporarily set aside their motherhood identity, and return to a relaxed state of being themselves.

A large pink balloon spelling out "妈 (Mum)" floats in nature, on the streets, under city towers, in elevators... Visual imagery combined with highly relatable text perfectly illustrates what it means for "a mum's life to be a wilderness," conveying the voice for freedom that women who become mothers also need.

AIMER’s Mother’s Day campaign in China "Mum's Escape Plan.” Source: RED/Xiaohongshu

Many brands have also launched various marketing activities from the perspective of focusing on mothers as individuals themselves. They follow the changing values in society and create advertising campaigns that resonate more deeply with people's hearts.

However, in this Mother's Day marketing frenzy, there are also brands that failed to understand consumer demands and ended up with unsuccessful advertising campaigns.

Blue Moon

During Mother's Day, Blue Moon launched marketing advertisements in various office buildings and elevators. The posters featured Mr. Dong, a top KOL on Douyin, holding Blue Moon's premium product gift box, with silhouettes of mothers of different ages in the background, connecting scenes from pregnancy to caring for children, doing household chores, striving in the workplace, and aging slowly, highlighting the theme of Mother's Day. The content on the poster is extremely inappropriate.

"In the past, mum used a big bottle of laundry detergent to wash our clothes, which was heavy and tiring. Now, with the extraordinary future laundry technology, making mum's laundry easier, lighter, and more effortless." Moreover, they printed the slogan "妈妈，您先用 (Mum, you use it first)" on the product gift box.

Blue Moon's Mother's Day campaign promoting the "let mum use it first" supreme laundry detergent reinforces the stereotype of laundry as exclusively a mother's chore. As soon as it was released, this elevator advertisement sparked backlash from netizens, with many of them spontaneously writing notes and sticking them on Blue Moon's billboards to express their dissatisfaction.

Blue Moon's woefully inappropriate mothers day ad in China, with people’s notes on their billboards. Source: RED/Xiaohongshu

After sparking a public relations crisis, Blue Moon's response can be described as a public relations disaster, ultimately pushing the brand into the depths of public opinion.

Firstly, Blue Moon's customer service commented stating "the intention was to express gratitude to mothers" and "regardless of who does the laundry for whom, it is all full of love." Secondly, Blue Moon's official account shared survey data, stating, "According to relevant surveys, women spend an average of 120 minutes on household chores every day, with most mothers being the main force in household chores, often spending a lot of time on family cleanliness." This attempted explanation aimed to assert that the advertisement "did not deepen stereotypes; the fact is that women generally do household chores, and mothers do the most."

After experiencing two failed attempts at public relations, Blue Moon made a third move by investing ¥1 million ($140K) to solicit new advertising copy from netizens. An example provided was: "I did the laundry for Mum, making life easier and more enjoyable." However, people expressed that this copy still gives the impression that "laundry is originally Mum's job, and today I helped Mum do her job," and it still does not break away from the combination of "Mum + laundry."

Blue Moon's three failed attempts at public relations. Image: RED & WeChat

Finally, Blue Moon withdrew the controversial materials offline, but the brand's outdated values resulted in its brand image being severely damaged in this failed marketing campaign.

A brand’s advertising interprets and reflects the brand's values and social awareness. Consumers expect to see not only the efficacy of products and promotional offers but also the brand's emotional stance expressed in advertisements. They want advertisements that engage in dialogue with them, communicate effectively, establish deep emotional connections, and convey diverse values. Only through equality and respect can brands truly "please" female consumers.