Why is Boston advertising agency, Mullen, holding real interviews for a fake job?
The job is Director of Operations. The job description is, as one interviewee noted, “inhumane”, and it made another ask, “Is it legal?”
Twenty-four people responded to a job listing these details: Unlimited work weeks. No vacations. Need degrees in medicine, finance and culinary arts. And you won’t get paid.
Then they found out there was more: Must be able to work 135-plus hours a week. Must working standing up for most hours, often overnight. No breaks.
Eating depends on when the “associate” eats. Able to manage 10 to 15 projects at one time…
When the interviewees were suitably puzzled and politely scornful of the Ts & Cs, the interviewer offered, “What if I told you there’s someone that actually currently holds this position right now? Billions of people, actually…”
[Say what?]
“…Mothers.”
And the video turned into a heartwarming Mother’s Day advertisement for card company American Greetings’ Cardstore.com, called World’s Toughest Job.
If the responses of the interviewees is indicative of the emotions triggered and 15,052,016 YouTube views in 9 days is indicative of the video’s reach, then American Greetings ‘confidence that it will get a bigger response to the ad than it has ever seen for Mother’s Day is justified.
The campaign is being continued on the company’s blog site, introduced by this greeting:
American Greetings and Cardstore know that a Director of Operations’ impact is endless.
And so is the job description. Add to the unlimited list or responsibilities,
requirements and reasons why these professionals are of the highest order.
It is also publishing tweets that are building a list of mums’ unending job requirements.
American Greetings spokesperson, Patrice Sadd, commented, “We told Mullen we wanted to come out with something to stand out on Mother’s Day. It really touches at people’s hearts. We’re hearing from moms who are saying, ‘That’s me.’
Andrea Mileskiewicz, associate creative director at Mullen, added, “The topic of mom is so heartfelt and so relatable, and we just wanted to make a video that inspired meaningful connections. We’re incredibly pleased with how people are connecting with it.”
Where did the idea come from? Apparently, Mileskiewicz went home to Michigan where she spent time with her brother, his wife and their newborn, the couple’s second child. it sturck her how hard being a mother was for her sister-in-law.
When she went back to Boston, the planning for the Mother’s Day campaign was just beginning. She pitched a well-worn theme, ie. how hard being a mother is – in a whole new form, ie. as a job. As the concept took shape, a team of mums from the two companies added input to give the campaign its humour and authenticity.
Mullen then placed an ad in newspapers and online. Craigslist ads linked to a fictitious job description page. Hundreds of thousands of people saw the ad online or in the papers, but only 24 answered it. [“That kind of proves the point that people think the job is too tough, Mileskiewicz said.]
Then the Mullen team set up interviews with people who were told they would be helping evaluate the job ad by allowing video conference. The interviewer was an improv actor – the only actor in the video.
Some of the test group came to an office in New York while others used a webcam from home. Only one person started to see the ruse during the interview. The others sat through about 15 minutes of interviewing before they were let in on the real message.
“Everyone [who] came in had no idea had no idea what they were reacting to,” Mileskiewicz said. “All of those reactions are completely authentic.”
