Mom’s work is never done. After a full day on the job, the mom shift starts back at home. And, frankly, it’s exhausting. This is something workwear brand Carhartt empathizes with in its Mother’s Day spot, featuring real-world laborer moms–farmers, welders, electricians–who spend their days on the farm or on a job site.
Directed by Pam Thomas through Community Films and created by Carhartt’s in-house agency, “The Shift That Never Ends” is an homage to those women whose lives straddle hard physical work and the tenderness of being a mom. Thomas said the rawness of the womens’ emotion was the result of casting real families and following their real lives. Some of the women wore their own 20-year old Carhartt gear in the spot–a testament to the brand’s rugged durability–and tears of exhaustion were real, like those from one mom who broke down after finally succeeding in getting a newborn cow to take milk from its mother. “It was an extremely intimate moment, and she was generous enough to share it and put herself out there. I was awestruck and inspired,” said Thomas.
Despite the portrayal of hardcore moms and their non-stop lives, the spot’s message is simple: Carhartt doesn’t make gear for Mother’s Day because for those 24 hours, Mom shouldn’t be working. Instead, the best thing these 364-day-a-year laborers can receive is a day of rest.
