Some two years ago, Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., rolled out its Procter & Gamble campaign linked to the 2010 Winter Olympics. But rather than heralding P&G’s sponsorship of the Games, the decision was made to sponsor the moms of Team USA athletes. A Pampers spot, for example, noted that “before they [American athletes] were wearing Gold, Silver or Bronze, they were wearing diapers…Thank you, Mom.”
Spots drove traffic to ThankYouMom.com where people could express appreciation for their mothers.
P&G also built a center in Vancouver, B.C., for Olympic family members to stay at during the Games–and paid for every Team USA Mom to attend the Olympics. This created a village of goodwill for Team USA family members, and this positive spirit was evident in the overall campaign which generated during the 17 days of the Games some 50,000 tweets about the work, 400,000 new Facebook friends, and an estimated $130 million in incremental sales of P&G products.
Fast forward to today and the mom theme is also evident in the first glimpse of the global campaign W+K has planned for P&G’s initiative for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Today–with 100 days to go until the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in London–a two-minute film, Best Job, was launched exclusively online to P&G Facebook fans. Shorter, localized versions of the spot will make their TV debut worldwide on May 8. The film is part of a larger “Thank you, Mom” campaign supporting the 2012 Olympics.
Directed by Oscar nominee (for Babel) Alejandro González Iñárritu via Anonymous Content, Best Job shows us different moms around the world getting their youngsters up in the early a.m. for training in their respective sports and follows each through the years until their moments of competitive Olympics glory. A supered message reads, “the hardest job in the world is the best job in the world. Thank you, Mom.”
This tug-at-the-heartstrings anthem film was shot on four continents and features local actors and athletes from each location–London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing.
P&G is also rolling out the “Thank You Mom” app that allows people to thank their own moms by uploading personalized content in the form of a video, still image with caption or text-based message. Users will then be able to encourage friends and family to do the same, spreading the word to thank and celebrate moms.
The creative ensemble at W+K beyond the two-minute film and its quartet of :60 versions, five :30s and pair of :15s included creative directors Danielle Flagg and Karl Lieberman, copywriter Kevin Jones, art director Ollie Watson, sr. agency producers Erika Madison and Matt Hunnicutt, executive creative directors Mark Fitzloff and Susan Hoffman, and head of broadcast production Ben Grylewicz.
González Iñárritu’s support team at Anonymous included exec producers Dave Morrison, Eric Stern and Jeff Baron, head of production SueEllen Clair, line producer John Benet associate producer Chris Gallagher and production supervisor Natalie Jacobson. Rodrigo Prieto was the DP. Peter Kohn and Javier Soto were first assistant directors. Production designer was Jeremy Hindle. Costume designer was Casey Storm.
Editor was Peter Wiedensmith of Joint Editorial. Sound designers were Wiedensmith and Eric Hill via Joint. Colorist was Adam Scott of The Mill LA.
The VFX contingent at The Mill LA included exec producer Sue Troyan, producer Enca Kaul, shoot supervisors Hitesh Patel and Tom Bussell, shoot supervisor/2D lead artist Phil Crowe, 2D lead artist Andy Bate, 3D lead artist Nick Lines, 2D artists Becky Porter and Daniel Lang, 3D artists Mike Panoy, Adam Carroll and James Brady, and matte painters Gawain Liddiard and Andy Wheater.
The song “Divenire” composed by Ludovico Einaudi served as the score. Audio post mixer was Jeff Payne at Eleven.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Delay TikTok Ban
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.
"President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case," said Trump's amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general.
The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.
He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger... Read More