Couples who share household chores equally stay together longer and arguments over housework are a common factor in break-ups. That’s not just speculation. It’s the result of a study by Stockholm University.

And yet the August 2018 results of a survey in Australia with the awkward name, Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, showed that men have 99 hours more than women a year in which they’re not working, doing housework or caring for dependants. Australians are becoming less traditional in their views about gender roles but the reality of how men and women spend their time still remains very different. On average, Australian men with children spend 17 hours per week doing household chores if in a de factor relationship and 15 if married, while women spend 28 if in a de facto relationship and 30 if married. On top of that, men spend 14 caring for dependants if de facto and 11 if married, while de factor women spend 29 caring for dependants and married women, 24.

Moreover, a study by the Pew Research Center in the US showed that men view how much work they do around the house differently to how women do. In the study, fathers were 10% more likely to say that the domestic chores are shared equally in the relationship.

The&Partnership Nordics has created a new campaign, Femti Femti (Fifty Fifty) for Swedish household retailer Tretti to demonstrate that it works in practice, revealing how equal sharing of household chores leads to longer-lasting love.

The campaign follows a couple, Mikaela and David, whose home is installed with smart household products equipped with a voice recognition lock that automatically prevents products from being used by the same person twice in a row.

Mikaela and David are forced to share the housework for the first time. The couple begin by attempting to stick to a prescriptive rota of chores. As time goes on, it becomes more natural for them to share tasks equally, and to talk more openly about the benefits of sharing the load at home.

David commented, “Overall, we’ve gained a greater understanding of what equality actually means, for real.”

“I think it’s been really educational,” added Mikaela. “We hope to be better role models for our daughter.”

As part of the campaign, The&Partnership has also created an online test for Tretti customers to evaluate how equal their household really is.

Joachim Medalen, chief executive officer of The&Partnership Nordics, commented, “We hope this campaign will encourage viewers to embrace a 50/50 split of workload in the home, as well as building awareness of Tretti’s excellent portfolio of household goods. Femti Femti was great fun to make – and it was fascinating to see how the findings from Stockholm University were borne out in our experiment with Mikaela and David.”

Rikke Bülow Davidsen, Chief Development Officer at Tretti, said: “At Tretti, we know the difference it can make to have the right tools at home – both for more practical reasons, but also when it comes to relationships. We wanted to share that insight. If Femti Femti can also create debate on how we can make everyday life more equal, that is another plus.”

Credits

Agency: The&Partnership Nordics

Creative Director: Timo Orre
Copywriters: Anton Holmstrand & Hanna Adelstål
Art Directors: Sebastian Kamph & Petter Dufvenberg
Creative Planner: Leon Phang

Client Lead: Joachim Medalen
Account Manager: Marita Linnell

Media Director: Fredrik Pettersson
Media Planner: Malin Malmström
SoMe Planner & Producer: Julia Tånge

Client: Tretti (Whiteaway Group)

Client Approval: Rikke Bülow Davidsen