Ariel asks men to regard women as coequals and #ShareTheLoad

Ariel has rolled out the fifth edition of its #ShareTheLoad campaign titled 'see equal' to highlight how men are blind-sighted about the roles women play in their lives and the challenges they have to undertake. 

 

Conceptualised by BBDO, the film raises a pertinent question: 'If men can share the load equally with other men, why are they not doing it with their wives?" It aims to remind families that true equality is only reflected when everyone #SharesTheLoad of domestic chores. 

 

The film features a married couple, who visit their new neighbours. On looking at the two male neighbours go about their morning tasks by both contributing equally, she points it out to her husband. The husband then casually recollects how he used to split all chores back in the day with his college roommate. This incident, along with a few more, makes the woman realise that she is not being seen and treated as an equal. After mulling over it, she takes a stand for herself and shares her realisation with her husband, demanding to be seen as an equal. This conversation makes the husband drop his bias and #ShareTheLoad. 

 

Sharat Verma, chief marketing officer, P&G India, and vice president, fabric care, P&G India, said, "With Ariel #ShareTheLoad, we strive to trigger meaningful conversations that will help drive positive change. With #See Equal, we want to address years of unconscious bias and conditioning, which may be coming in the way of us all sharing the load. A recent World Economic Forum report claims that at the current pace of change, gender parity is still 135 years away! That is far too long for us to wait for something that comes naturally for men when they interact with each other. Interestingly, over 73% of married men agreed that they did their share of household chores when they lived with other men. However, even now in urban India, less than 25 per cent of households claim that men share the load equally. This year’s communication is based on this simple insight - when men can ShareTheLoad equally with other men, then why not with their wives? Because we know when we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad." 

 

Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India, said, "We’ve taken a slightly different track in the latest film for Ariel #ShareTheLoad. There is a definite shift in the tonality. This time, it’s the woman who speaks for herself. It is the woman speaking her mind and sharing her point of view. The film is fully reflective of the reality of today’s times, where the woman refuses to accept inequality in her marriage. Research confirmed this. 88% of women believe it is time to talk to men about doing their share of the household work equally. There is a sense of restlessness, and impatience in the women today at the pace of change. So, this film is also a means to encourage conversations to truly move us towards an equal tomorrow.”

 

CREDITS: 

 

Creative agency: BBDO India

Chairman and chief creative officer: Josy Paul

Chief executive officer: Suraja Kishore

Chief creative officer, Mumbai: Hemant Shringy

Senior creative director art: Balakrishna Gajelli

Associate creative director copy: Karan Nair

Art director: Omkar Rachha

Production house: Ransom 

Executive producer: Salil Khurana, Suhana Sharma 

Director: Shimit Amin 

PR partner: Ketchum Sampark

Digital partner: Kinnect

Media partner: Mediacom

On-ground partner: Encompass