Gender Inequality has been the burning topic for quite a long time now. And that’s for all the right reasons. Different brands are taking different kinds of unique initiatives to make more and more people aware about the inequalities that have been going on in the society for a long period of time now but we have never noticed. Even if we have, they weren’t alarming enough to raise our concerns. How many of us have actually seen our dads doing the daily household chores even with our moms working? It’s a pretty common sight in an Indian household to see the mother doing all the cooking, the laundry, the dishes. Aerial, being one of the most common household brands, took up this opportunity to teach the world that it’s not only the responsibility of the woman in the house to do the jobs of the household.
The first installment advertisement of #ShareTheLoad campaign came out on 2015. The film featured two senior citizens stirring up a conversation on how women have come a long way since their time with one of them delightfully acknowledging how her daughter-in-law earns more than her son. The daughter-in-law is shown working in the background when the son comes and pokes her for not washing his green shirt. The ad film closes with the question, “Is laundry only a women’s job?” Initially, the campaign was launched in only India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan but it spread like wildfire in 22 countries in 16 languages in no time. In 2016, this campaign ended up receiving a Glass Lion for its content marketing.
The same year after the big win, Aerial came back to leverage on their award-winning idea. The brand released another ad film where it was shown how a dad feels apologetic for his daughter when he sees her doing the household chores right after coming back from office, while her husband chills on the couch. This makes him realize how he also never helped his wife in domestic work and thus never building up the value of equality. This ad film ends with a quote too. It said, “Why is laundry only a mother’s job? And Dads, #ShareTheLoad”
What is common in both these ad films is their simplistic execution. Aerial, brought a very small concept in light which probably needed a huge exposure. By gender equality, we often mean, equal pay, equal work hours, equal parental rights, but most of us forget that there is inequality right in front of us. Also, both the films have restrained from showing the typical gossipy mother-in-law or the father who is always asking the daughter to adjust for the probability of a better future. They have beautifully portrayed characters who are very open-minded without being staunch or preachy. This campaign became the identity of the brand based on something as mere as laundry. According to an article by Social Samosa, this ad film garnered 6.4M views on Facebook, with 124k shares, 231k reactions along with creatives floating around social media, stating facts and engaging their audiences.
This campaign was not easy to pull off given the fact that in a country like ours, women are categorized as good or bad depending on the amount of domestic work they do. There is no “discount” for those who also go to work. But, Aerial, took the extra step to make this tiny issue an echoing thought in the minds of the people. In an age, where we often question brands on how woke they themselves are, Aerial, took the plunge to prove themselves and how!
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#ShareTheLoad: A walk through Ariel’s most successful campaign
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