The decade-long campaign that encourages an equal split of the domestic load
The laundry detergent category is obsessed with one thing: stain-removal power. But when Procter & Gamble approached BBDO India about its flagship brand Ariel in the middle of the last decade, the team at the agency reframed the issue. The result has been a nine-year-long campaign that asks not how well the product cleans – but whose responsibility it is to clean.
Every year, the campaign focuses on a different aspect of gender-based domestic inequality. Previous years looked at how boys were socialised into seeing laundry as women’s work, or the impact of household chores on women’s sleep. In 2023, the focus shifted to “silent separation” – in which later-life couples drift apart, and the pressure of household inequality drives a wedge between spouses. Attention was drawn to the issue through a short film, and media moments like re-matrimonials in the personal sections of newspapers, or re-commitment ceremonies.
“Share The Load” is a campaign that has been recognised by D&AD since 2016, and this year, BBDO was awarded the White Pencil in the new Sustained Impact category that awards work that pushes an original idea forward, generating increased behavioural, environmental, social or policy change over time. When the campaign began, 79% of men believed that laundry was a woman’s job. A recent survey saw that number shrink to 26% today. Vice President of Brand Planning Naina Meattle jokes that they will not stop the campaign until this number is zero.
“When the campaign began, 79% of men believed that laundry was a woman’s job. A recent survey saw that number shrink to 26% today. Vice President of Brand Planning Naina Meattle jokes that they will not stop the campaign until this number is zero.”
This year’s work was based on a number of different sources. There’s the macro trends, like the rise in silver divorces. Then there’s quantitative research: 81% of women feel that unequal distribution of tasks has impacted their relationship over time. The team also did significant qualitative research, speaking to marriage counsellors and even house help about what they observed from their intimate views into married life.
Before all this is an open session in which all members of the team share thoughts, feelings and views on the world, and their home life. It’s from this “creative therapy” that the idea for Share The Load first came about, and it’s still critical to the process. “We [prefer] to say confessions, not insights,” says Chairman Josy Paul. “Insights are broad-based. Confessions are personal, and they go into a very deep place. It's one individual suddenly telling you something. And then you realise that in the personal is the universal. And from that comes the idea.”