Applied the learnings about advertising message – content and execution. Assessed the ability of a brand/company/service to effectively use TV advertising as part of an integrated marketing communication plan in more than one country and developed recommendations that would make this communication more effective.

1. Assessment of TV Commercial
GF 4508 A1 Global Marketing Communications – Fall 2012
Proctor & Gamble – Olympics 2012
Team: Innovation Nation

2. Executive Summary
Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is a Fortune 500 consumer goods company based out of the United States. The
company has a large global footprint, selling their products in around 180 countries. In the year of 2012,
P&G was named as one of the tier-1 sponsors for the London Olympics. As part of their advertising
campaign for the games, P&G chose the theme “Thank you Mom” and ran a series of commercials with the
following variations:
1. Momifesto – Celebrating mothers
2. To mothers they are always kids
3. Best job in the world
The target audiences clearly are the mothers, who more often than not make the purchasing decision
when it comes to shopping for the household.
This analysis focuses on the effectiveness of the third theme, “Best job in the world”. The central theme of
the commercial is the hard work mothers put into raising their kids, in this case prospective Olympians,
and celebrates an otherwise underrated job. The commercial shows the daily chores mothers do for their
families and ends with the children thanking their mothers, thereby capitalizing on the viewers’ strong
emotions. This analysis was performed for two emerging markets: India and China. While P&G chose to
show the standard global ad campaign in India, they decided to tailor the content of their campaign with
only local content for China.
P&G was quite successful in getting across the message and their concern for the primary target segment.
But we feel that they could have done a better job of placing their actual products in the campaign. The
reasoning being that a mother may not identify with the parent company P&G but would certainly identify
with products like Tide, Pantene, Ariel, Whisper, Crest…etc. We also feel that just like they customized the
commercial for China, they could have done the same for India too. There wasn’t even a single South Asian
mother shown in the commercial.
Overall, we feel that the message and the execution were very powerful. Along with our suggested
recommendations, P&G could have made a stronger connection with this campaign.
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3. Contents
Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................................2
About the campaign .............................................................................................................................................4
Target audience ....................................................................................................................................................5
Analysis of the message .......................................................................................................................................5
Message - China................................................................................................................................................6
Message - India .................................................................................................................................................6
Analysis of the execution......................................................................................................................................6
Execution - China ..............................................................................................................................................7
Execution - India ...............................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations................................................................................................................................................7
China .................................................................................................................................................................7
India ..................................................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................8
Analysis of other media used ...............................................................................................................................9
References ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
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4. About the campaign
Of the many sponsors of the London Olympic Games 2012, we have chosen to analyse P&G and their
global advertising campaign, “Thank you Mom”.
P&G is an American multinational consumer goods company with over 50 brands of food & beverages,
household cares and other productsi. Their TV advertising campaign, “Thank you Mom” was showcased in
many countries around the world and while each of them celebrated the special relationships mothers
(across the world) share with their children, there are three distinct types of campaigns that they had
rolled out with varying levels of an emotional tug:
1. Thank you Mom-Momifesto: “Let’s not forget the person who got them there”:
Global/USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BpLS9wSm80
P&G identified the struggles that the mothers might have gone through to raise an Olympian in their
home: from the first time on a bicycle to a professional cyclist, from the first swimming lesson to a
professional swimmer. Very effectively, one gets the message: “They weren’t born Olympians. They were
just raised that way. This summer, as we celebrate the world’s Olympic athletes, let’s not forget the person
who got them there”. The audience ends up feeling warm and touched when recognizing the hard work of
a mother.
France: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-d6b89BBJY
Italy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-LAItHwuh8
2. Thank you Mom: “To us, they're Olympians. But to their moms, they'll always be kids”:
Global/ USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRaQRbAxXaA
A simple emotional thread tugs at your heart with this one. “Everybody in the world sees Olympians as
strong, ambitious individuals, however for their mothers, they are always a child”. One realizes that no
matter where they are from and how old their kids are, all mothers always have the same maternal feeling
toward their children.
India: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDFxP77pBwc&NR=1&feature=endscreen
3. Thank you Mom: “The best job in the world is the hardest job”
Global/USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NScs_qX2Okk&feature=relmfu
In this ad, P&G identifies the daily thankless chores that every mother does- no matter where she is from,
like waking up her kids, making breakfast, sending them to school, doing laundry, waiting at their practice
sessions etc. P & G raises a social call to dignify those activities that belong to their daily routine, as it
shows how much a mother cares and is willing to sacrifice for her child’s success. “The hardest job in the
world is truly the best job”. This message creates a heavy emotional impact on the target audience.
Given the demographics of our team and with a team consensus, we shall be critiquing “The best job in the
world is the hardest job” as the Ad Campaign for P&G.
China: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGw8T74eMEA (A customized ‘Chinese’ campaign that has
the same message, same music but only Chinese connotations)
India: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c03iCCo18es (The same ad as that of the global campaign)
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5. Target audience
While it may have been an obvious guess considering that the campaign calls out to thank ‘Moms’, we
reached out to our mothers in our respective countries as well as some peers/friends from our home-
countries and have identified a strong primary target audience with a latent secondary target audience as
well:
Primary audience:
For both, China and India, the primary target audience is Mothers- anyone who is within the age group of
20 to 65. Both Chinese and Indian mothers are heavily involved in shopping groceries and other
necessities for the house. Further, a TV access is most viable for stay-at-home mothers in both, India and
China (including the rural parts). With heavy emotional music and sparse use of language, this campaign
has the potential to surpass any literary concern.
A side-note over here is for the Chinese campaign- since it is heavily targeted towards Chinese mothers
and their lives; it has a stronger emotional tug as the daily chores that they show are way too targeted as
compared to the generic campaign that is used in India.
Secondary target audience:
With our preliminary research of asking our friends back in India and China, we can safely confirm that
the secondary target audience, though latent, would be the youth in India and China (approximately 15 to
25 years of age). Since this is the age when one starts making a few decisions while staying at home with
his/her parents, this ad campaign does have a strong brand recall for P&G and not necessarily their
individual products. Given the deep emotional connection with which most children in Asian countries are
raised, we believe that P&G would not have necessarily targeted the youth as a secondary target market,
however, they do become an important stakeholder in carrying forward the brand’s messaging and recall.
Overall, when we club their primary and secondary target audience, we see that most people from 15 to
60 (barring the quintessential Alpha male/husband/father) can be targeted using this one ad campaign.
Analysis of the message
The message in both the ads, for China and India, is the same- the content describes how mothers do every
daily chore and sacrifice their every dream for the child. As a CPG company, the challenge for P&G was to
find a common emotional thread between Olympics and their products. However, by celebrating mothers
and their everyday work, P&G successfully bridges the gap between Olympics and P&G’s consumer
products. A few reasons as to why this ad campaign became so successful, irrespective of the country it
was aired in, are:
1. Building consensus among different stakeholders: Although different people have different
experiences, the mother-child relationship is one of the purest and most natural relationships
since time memorial. Building on this common emotional connection for everyone, this campaign
breaks through the media clutter and attracts more extensive stakeholders.
2. Using emotions as an effective communication tool: Since the campaign revels in a mother’s
arduous care for her child and her sacrifice for her family, the campaign supplies an authentic and
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6. touching story that automatically triggers a compassionate response to the theme which builds a
strong emotional connection between the company and its customers.
Message - China
In China, stay-at-home mothers are usually expected to silently carry on with their work. In about 60
seconds, the commercial describes how Chinese mothers help their kids grow up and succeed in the
Olympic games. We believe this commercial efficiently delivers the message to P&G’s target customers in
China and strongly builds emotional connect between brands and customers. This evaluation is based on
analyses below (using our team member’s personal experiences):
1. Connecting with the Chinese customers: First of all, different from some countries, Chinese
mothers usually control all day-to-day purchase decisions in households. P&G struck gold by
choosing mothers to be the central theme. More importantly, since Chinese mothers always want
to give the best things to their children, this campaign showcases P&G as a reliable brand. Lastly,
Chinese people usually don’t express their thankfulness directly to mothers. So P&G expresses this
noble gesture and reinforces the emotional connection between the brand and customers.
2. Targeted campaign for local customers: Different from the global campaign, P&G made minor
changes in China like changing the ‘Olympics ribbon’ logo from blue and white to the Chinese lucky
colors- red and yellow. These subtle changes as well as a culturally targeted campaign is required
in China as western cultures are not widely spread in China yet and it is easier for Chinese people
to accept and resonate with commercials that show their normal daily life. This implicates that
P&G really understands the Chinese market and respects their culture.
An interesting observation in the ad for China is the absence of any male children. This can be
seen as P&G making a strong social statement by exclusively showcasing women and their
daughters.
Message - India
In India, P&G used the same message. They tried to capitalize on the emotions of mothers and the
hardships & sacrifices they went through when trying to give their young ones the best they can. The main
theme was that a mother’s job, widely unappreciated, is one of the best jobs. P&G products, hence, assist
mothers in their lives to make them successful.
Analysis of the execution
• Execution Strategies: Since the global advertising strategies can range from standardized brand and
standardized communications to locally adapted brand and locally adapted communications, we
identify two separate advertising strategies used by P & G in India and China.
o China: With the range of locally adapted products (China specific) that are showcased in the
end of the campaign (Pampers, Crest, Tide, Ariel, Gillette) and the personalized ad campaign
made for China alone, we can safely place this campaign in the Locally adapted product and
locally adapted communications end of the strategy spectrum.
o India: With the range of locally adapted products (India specific) that are showcased in the end
of the campaign (Ariel, Pampers, Pantene) and the global ad campaign that is showcased in
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7. India, we can safely place this campaign in the Locally adapted product and standardized
communications end of the spectrum.
• Execution Styles: P&G is a locally adapted brand that changes products, product features and brand
names based on the regional market they are selling in. The commercial uses the execution style
known as ‘slice of life’ as it depicts the normal routine of a mother and how she supports her child in
learning a sport; nurturing their talent and encouraging them achieve their potential. The music plays
a vital role in this commercial, harping on the ‘Musical’ style, as it toils at that emotional wire in us
and builds an overwhelming emotion in us. The campaign makes us remember our mothers and
recognize the sacrifices they have made for us and eventually asking us to say “Thank you Mom”.
Execution - China
The ad has been modified to reflect the daily routine of a typical Chinese mother as she does everything
for her child right from waking them up, cooking, cleaning, shopping, washing and walking them to the
bus. While the content of the ad displayed in China is the same, the execution is more local.. The same
emotional factor of the global campaign does come through in the Chinese version of the campaign, except
for the fact that only the life/routine of the Chinese mother is portrayed. To go a step further, given that
China is major player in the Olympics and Olympics is a symbol of pride and honor to them, P&G modified
the Olympic ribbon colors at the end of the commercial from blue and white to reflect the colors of the
Chinese flag red and yellow. Additionally the color red represents good luck and is used for all auspicious
events. Yellow is associated with support and good faithii.
Execution - India
In India, they did not modify the ad other than the products/brands at the end of the commercial to reflect
the most popularly used in the market and the Facebook link. For, instance they displayed their sanitary
napkin brand ‘Whisper’, which is a famous brand in the Indian sub-continent although, majority of the
world market knows the same brand as ‘Always’.
India is not a strong Olympic participant which is probably one of the explanations for using the same
global campaign in India. Also, the western culture has been more or less adapted in the Indian
metropolitan cities so this ad still has some resonance factor. They used the same global campaign, but a
shorter version for the TV commercials to suit the time and cost effectiveness of running the campaign.
However, we do question as to why P&G chose not to customize the commercial for India. Considering
their focus in India, where its turnover is over a billion USD and is playing catch-up with UniLever for the
top spotiii, it was surprising to see that the ad shown in India did not have a single mother-child
combination from the Indian demographics. While we recognize the fact that mothers everywhere would
react to the ad with similar emotions, certain aspects of the ad that are specific to culture like the food
shown, may not be something an average Indian mother would be able to relate to.
Recommendations
China
Overall, the campaign execution in China is very effective since its coverage is really complete and deep.
We do feel that modifying the add to suit the target audience in China was the right thing to do, however
one suggestion is that P&G should have leveraged on this medium to promote their various brands
through more product placements in this commercial, as this is the primary source of
information/advertising medium in China where consumers are educated about existing products.
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8. India
To begin with, P&G could have shown an Indian mother and her child. Not a single South Asian looking
actor was used in the commercials. In terms of activities that mothers do, P&G could have shown the
mother making “Chapathi”, the traditional Indian bread, which is a very common sight in an Indian
kitchen. This replication of the actual user’s day-to-day activity helps build a personal connection. Adding
to the customizations, the sports shown in the commercial are not really popular in India. Hence P&G
should have used sports like football, tennis, badminton instead of swimming and gymnastics. Another
powerful tool that could have been used is the voice-over of a Bollywood celebrity.
A mother from a middle or lower-middle class family may not know what P&G is. So it would have been
more effective if the actual products were displayed during the ad instead of quickly flashing through the
labels towards the end.
Conclusion
Overall, P&G’s “Thank you Mom” ad campaign was very powerful and effective. The campaign was very
direct in targeting to the primary audience, mothers. The way the message was executed transcended
borders, ethnicities and cultures. Unlike other Olympic ads that don’t live beyond the duration of the
games itself, the message of this ad campaign does not restrict itself to sports or Olympics. Thereby it
stands out from the clutter and has the potential of being reused when required. While the ad campaign is
definitely successful, our recommendations in general are to emphasize on the individual brands and not
just the parent company. Our recommendation specific to India, is aimed at improving its effectiveness in
terms of brand recall and building a stronger connect with its Indian customers.
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9. Analysis of other media used
Facebook
We notice significant difference between the content of the Facebook pages run by the company for the
global campaign and the page that is specific to India. The global/US Facebook campaign page uses more
of CSR related topics, images and videos that promotes the brand, P&G, as a very concerned brand about
the community. As this is the official page, all posts are done with great quality images and videos,
concentrating primarily around Olympics, colors of the Olympics and Olympians as well.
The page in India is more driven by the Fans/consumers as it contains images of memories with their
mothers. P&G also set up a tab on the page to let fans submit their favorite pictures with mom. The
images are not of any specific standard quality but purely an attempt to awaken that emotional side
within you with sentimental dialogues and memorable yet typical moments in everyday life. The cover
photo used on this page is the celebrity mom and daughter duo of Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan.
This may throw consistency out of the campaign in India when you look at the launch, the TV commercial
and the Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/thankyoumom - US
http://www.facebook.com/ThankYouMum - UK
http://www.facebook.com/ThankYouMomIndia?ref=ts – India
Twitter
Looking at the way the communication is sent out using the US handle, they communicate in a relatively
structured, formal yet with a subtle hint of promoting the brand and their products.
A twitter page does exist with the handle @ThankYouMomIn, however this is not an official page by the
company as it does not have the Twitter certified blue-check logo next to it.
In roll out with this plan, and Twitter handle set up, they introduced the ‘#’, a phenomenon used by
Twitter to talk about similar topics and track what is being said about a certain issue. Thus the hash tag,
#thankyoumom was created. Till date many users tweet their memorable day-to-day moments with their
moms and appreciate the little things they do for them and end the tweet with #thankyoumom.
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10. https://twitter.com/ThankYouMomIn - Indian Twitter Handle
https://twitter.com/thankyoumum - UK Twitter Handle
https://twitter.com/ThankYouMom - US Twitter Handle
Yahoo
P&G partnered with Yahoo to display their ad campaigns and sponsored content that was to be used for
their ‘Team Mom blog’. The blog hosts content for young mothers to build a better and stronger
relationship with their children e.g. healthy snacks for them, books kids can read, how to keep them safe,
how to deal with issues kids face in their day to day lives etc. This medium acts like an additional indirect
weapon in their social media presence and builds a wholesome positive and trusting
response/relationship with their mother which in the long term can convert towards the company and
their brand.
http://shine.yahoo.com/blogs/team-mom/
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11. References
i
http://www.pg.com/en_US/index.shtml. Website. 24 Sep 2012
ii
Personal interview with Chinese student on campus. 24 Sep 2012
iii
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-06-29/news/29717263_1_p-g-home-products-p-g-
s-india-largest-consumer-products. Website. 23 Sep 2012
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