Mother’s Day is tough for women struggling to conceive. This Mother’s Day, AlmapBBDO and Brazilian cosmetics company, O Boticário, are celebrating the resilience of these women. Women who are desperate to be mothers.
Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that 1 in 6 couples have difficulty conceiving. In a world with little readily available information, restricted access to treatment, and persistent silence around the process of attempting pregnancy, the partners move to break the silence around the topic with a sensitive approach. The company partnered with B2Mamy, the largest mums’ community in Brazil, to produce a 4-episode video podcast featuring specialists and true stories, as well as a WhatsApp community for people trying to conceive.
Their campaign, Plans, follows previous work addressing sensitive, socially relevant topics involving motherhood. It leads with a 4-minute short film by AlmapBBDO set to a version of The Cranberries’ Dreams, that portrays the daily life of a woman imagining and planning a pregnancy while grappling with fertility issues in a series of poignant scenes. Each failed attempt at conception forces the main character to change course, reflecting a sobering statistic – while biological failures are equally distributed across genders (40% for men and women), the societal burden largely falls on women. But in the end, the message they need to hear is that they’re not alone and that love always has a plan – the concept running through the campaign as a whole. The film debuted on prime-time TV, and may be viewed in full on YouTube and the brand’s social media.
“Many women undergo the process of trying to conceive alone, which makes the pain of any eventual frustrations all the greater,” stated Carolina Carrasco, director of branding and communications at the Boticário Group.“Our goal with this campaign is to lay out the reality of this journey, which so often doesn’t go as one might imagine – and where the first step is a woman’s dream of becoming a mother. When they encounter difficulties in becoming pregnant, many women internalize their frustration and guilt and suffer in silence. By starting the conversation, we’re able to affirm their experiences and lend support and visibility to all the people and families going through this process. The campaign film is just one imagination of the countless experiences out there; that’s why, beyond telling this one story, we’re introducing a whole variety of initiatives to support and inform women trying to conceive.”
“This year, by addressing yet another sensitive social issue, we’re recognizing that motherhood begins with the desire to be a mother. The film makes it clear that these women aren’t alone, and that their maternal experiences come even before a positive test, as they think about names, imagine their lives together, and make plans. This is a powerful, supportive, empathetic tribute,” added Camilla Massari, vice-president of business and client services at AlmapBBDO.
Beyond the campaign itself, the video podcasts are providing educational content in four 40-minute episodes in which guests discuss the main themes of the campaign. Excerpts will also be published on Boticário’s official social media, as well as those of participants, boosting its reach and encouraging conversations on a variety of platforms. The free WhatsApp, curated by B2Mamy, can accommodate up to 200 participants. Users can enter via a landing page, and the group will include daily interaction led by the brand, aimed at making the experience supportive and informative.
“The WhatsApp support group and video podcast series with B2Mamy are key steps toward taking an invisible topic and making it the center of the conversation,” stated Carolina Carrasco. “That’s how we see our role, and we’re creating authentic campaigns for Mother’s Day and other special dates that start important conversations. These issues still aren’t as widely discussed as they should be, especially by brands.”
To be the face of its social media campaign, Boticário invited Brazilian actress and singer-songwriter, Mariana Rios, ensuring an authoritative voice on the issue, and one that could speak to a wider audience. Recently, Rios opened up about her experience attempting to conceive, opening up a conversation that allowed countless women to feel supported and seen, given that the issue tends to be practically invisible. It has also recruited a squad of influencers, who are currently attempting to conceive or have been through the process, in order to make the conversation all the more powerful.
Credits
Client: O Boticário
Client Team: Renata Gomide, Marcela de Masi, Carolina Carrasco, Lígia Monteiro, Mariana Fiordelice, Bibiana Veiga, Izabella Franchesci, Mayara Salgueiro, Pamella Tressino, and Rafaela Lopes
Agency: AlmapBBDO
President & CEO: Filipe Bartholomeu
CCO: Pernil
Executive Creative Directors: Fernando Duarte & Henrique Del Lama
Creative Consultant: Becky Korich
AV Production: Diego Villas Boas, Juliana Henriques & Julia Ramos
Account Team: Camilla Massari, Andressa Duo, Vivianne Santos, Thais Guarlotti, Julia Vasconcelos & José Henrique Pereira
CSO: João Gabriel Fernandes
Planning: Daniela Ferrari, Julia Martins & Giovanna Schiavon CDMO: Rafaela Alves
Media: Francisco Custódio, Suellen Kiss, Steffany Ribeiro, Camila Lopes, Patrick Novais & Leticia Cavalcante
Production: MyMama Entertainment
Director (Hero): Kid Burro
Director (Kits): Ana Valente
Creative Assistant: Luigi Madormo
Producers: André Pinho, Mayra Faour Auad, Gabrielle Auad & Nathalie Gautier
Executive Producer & Director of Coordination: João da Terra
1st AD: Lu Camargo
2nd AD (Hero): Eloísa Mendes
2nd AD (Kits): Kelly Bill
DoP: Mauricio Padilha
1st AC: Rodrigo Gonçalo
Post-Production: Nash
VFX Supervisor: Cirilo Bonazzi
Producer: Flávia Gannam
Post-Production Supervisor: Fezão Barbieri
Editor: Carol Leone
Colourist: Clandestino
Audio Production: Antfood Music & Sound Design
Musical Production Directors: Lou Schmidt, Fernando Rojo & Tiago Lins
Executive Producers: Christiane Rachel and Renato Castro
