There’s always space, whatever your audience, whatever your brand, to celebrate mothers all around the world and put them at the center of heartwarming campaigns. All it needs is a little bit of imagination and creativity, in order to entice your audience with the aim of raising your brand awareness and making it part of the seasonal narrative.
There’s so much inspiration going around on how to shower mothers with love and affection on this upcoming Mother’s Day and we’ve gathered all our favourite campaigns by food and beverage brands, who went out of their ways to honour mothers everywhere.
Budweiser - The Real MVP
Budweiser may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Mother’s Day, but they definitely found a way to relate basketball and beer to the sentimentality of the day. The brand incorporated clips and voiceovers from real basketball superstars and their mums, for example, Kevin Durant paying tribute to his mother during his MVP acceptance speech, in order to put forward the real MVPs of our lives and the hard work they put in on a daily basis. Budweiser managed to find a way to relate itself to the emotional celebration and by raising their brand awareness, perhaps even managed to get some mums to celebrate with a beer at hand.
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - Swear Like A Mother
The ‘Swear Like A Mother’ campaign by Kraft Heinz was based on a survey completed by the brand that found that 74% of mothers admit to cursing in front of their children, whether willingly or not. They utilized these facts to compose a rather hilarious ad, where the mother in the video even goes on to claim that the rest 26% are pretty much lying. In an incredibly honest ad that knows no bounds, Kraft Heinz was able to speak to mothers worldwide by showcasing a glimpse of a mum’s daily reality and the hardships that they have to push down. The brand even went ahead and created an entire website with Mother’s Day cards and noodle-shaped ‘fail-canceling earplugs’ for kids who wished to block out their mother’s swearing. A very much out-there ad that took a humorous approach to portray a relatable reality.
Kraft - Mother’s Day Away
Kraft Heinz went out of their way with another brilliant Mother’s Day campaign to honor the hard work that mothers put in on a daily basis and decided to give them the opportunity for a well-earned time off their motherly duties. In another deeply truthful ad, the brand wanted to encourage mothers to hire a babysitter and take some time for themselves with the incentive that they would pay the expenses. The brand’s encouraging message was intended to reward mothers for their hard work, which surely gained the admiration of many women in the US who were eligible to do this and managed to raise their brand awareness in the meantime.
McDonalds - #SaluteAllMothers (Pakistan)
McDonald’s Pakistan campaign definitely hit the emotional chords with a rather unexpectedly emotional ad that played on the concept of ‘Employee of the Month’ that are generally well-known in similar establishments in the fast food industry. The video starts off with an employee giving a passionate speech about his mother and the life lessons that he taught her about resilience and acceptance, followed by a poignant twist that takes the advertisement to a whole new emotional level. The touching tribute by a son to his mother carries with it great compassion and relevance and was an excellent ad by the brand to put the spotlight on mothers who work hard, teach harder, and overcome many hurdles to raise strong and inspiring children. The video was shared more than 60K times and received 136K likes, so it clearly had an impact on audiences.
Burger King (Germany)
The fast food brand plays on the crazy cravings that women get throughout their pregnancy. In a survey-style setting, along with their amused husbands, women talked about their most insane, yet common, pregnancy cravings and Burger King didn’t just stop there. The survey was actually conducted and then the brand went on to give out ‘Pregnancy Whoppers’ with the combos craved by expectant mothers. They may not have been the most appetizing to start with but were surely a success in reaching larger audiences and raising brand awareness.
KFC - Chickendales
KFC went for a more humorous approach that definitely achieved its goals of attracting a large audience and raising its brand awareness just in time for Mother’s Day. By utilizing their iconic Colonel Sanders and indulging him into a Chippendales-kind of the show, they created a delicious treat of an ad that was not only funny but mainly memorable. With cliché lines, catchy music, and a treat for the eyes, it spoke to mothers everywhere who were looking to lay off some steam and have some fun for themselves. The brand definitely brought the heat with its wicked sense of humor and resulted in a truly epic outcome.
Gatorade
The American sports-themed beverage brand, Gatorade, went an unexpected route by creating a highly emotional ad for their Mother’s Day campaign. In a tear-jerking, yet brilliantly produced ad, the brand was able to bring out high emotions from its audience who witnessed a short story of a son being heartbroken from the loss of his mother. Gatorade was able to take a life event that is relatable on all levels and an experience that is close to home for many viewers, and stick the landing with a powerfully touching ad, which also played with the already existing mentality of the brand of ‘Win From Within’.
Whether you want to incorporate humor or tug on the heartstrings for your Mother’s Day campaigns, our marketing and creative teams are ready to take on the challenge and take your FMCG brand to the next level!
Get in touch with us for more and let's get inspired together.