Research Proves That Olympic Athletes are Raised Only by Single Moms on the Brink of Poverty

 

P&G does their research. They tout that fact on their website. About how they were the first company to conduct deliberate, data based market research with consumers. And how they work hard to stay in touch with the people who use their products. They must spend millions, if not billions of dollars on research every year.  

So clearly P&G must have unshakeable proof that no dad has ever woken his future Olympic athlete early in the morning, given him or her breakfast, and taken that kid to an early morning practice, or to school.

No father of a future Olympian has ever gone to a gymnastics competition or a swim meet or a track and field event or a volleyball game.

No father of an Olympic hopeful has ever celebrated the wins, or comforted the losses.

For that matter, apparently no father of an Olympic athlete has ever done a load of laundry, cooked a meal, or washed a sink full of dirty dishes.

So if you're a dad, to P&G you do not exist and your contributions, if any, are too small to mention. You play no role whatsoever in this arena. Despite what you may think, you are not a purchaser, a nurturer or a decision maker. You are invisible.

Mom, you don't do much better here. This film reduces women in general and mothers in particular to nothing more than low grade charwomen, there only to cook meals and wash clothes and clean up the house. Procter & Gamble doesn't think you ever cut a conference call short or left work a little early to make sure Johnny or Susie got to a practice. No woman who works outside the home ever helped to raise an Olympian.

Really?

This film is made from a 50 year old script, a script where mom does all the housework and child rearing and dads are completely absent. Except 50 years ago the homes would have been sparkling and aspirational. Now they are dingy and poor and sad. Only the American mom lives in what looks to be a middle class home. The other families appear to be very low income, scrabbling out a meager existence assisted only by the value brands of P&G (yes, the product placements are in there although they are deftly done and mercifully short).

Look, I get it. Life is hard. Raising kids is hard. There are so many families with so little means, who have to work so hard to merely survive. Then add supporting the hopes and dreams of your children when money is tight, and there's no way you can afford the gymnastics training or the swim lessons. But you give them anyway, and you squeeze every dollar that much harder. And your kids don't notice that Mom's shoes have holes in them and and they never know Dad has been wearing the same suit for 7 years. 

In this daily struggle everyone makes sacrifices. Everyone. Not just moms. And not just moms raise kids. Families raise kids.

The thing is, I really like this film. It is beautifully shot and produced. It is artfully edited and the casting and performances are wonderful. The music is sad and inspirational at the same time. The more I watch it, the more I beautiful I find it to be.

P&G, in the past 15 years you've done a great job of moving your style of adverting and messaging forward into the modern era.  Please don't turn the clock back 50 years on all of us, especially not on such a grand stage.

Just throw a freaking dad or two in there, would you?