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P&G Once Again Celebrates Mom's Love In New Olympic Effort

For its Olympic sponsorship, Procter & Gamble continues to explore the power of parental love, this time imagining how the world would look if everyone saw each other through a mom’s eyes. 

Continuing the theme it started with “Thank You, Mom,” the new effort is called “Love Over Bias.” 

The film imagines what the world could be if we all saw each other through a mom’s eyes. Through a series of vignettes, the new effort celebrates a mom’s role as her child’s greatest advocate, seeing potential where others may not. Rather than showcase merely on the playing field, the film touches on deeper cultural issues that may result in preventing someone from reaching his or her dreams. 

For instance, the film depicts intertwined stories of children who don't always fit in, either in their sport or their schools. An African-American has downhill dreams, but the hero posters on her wall feature only white faces; a figure skating homosexual teen comes home cheerfully to his mother, who spies hey has a black eye; a young bobsledder endures the snickers of wealthier teammates because of the duct tape holding his boots together. As one these children find success, the message becomes clear: “Imagine if the world could see what a mom sees,” ending with the now-traditional “Thank you, Mom,” and the logos of several P&G brands.

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Among the real-life stories that inspired the campaign were those of 2014 Olympic medalist (and one of the first openly gay action sports athletes) Gus Kenworthy; 2012 & 2014 medalist Elana Meyes Taylor (who was one of the first women to pilot a mixed-gender 4-person bobsled team), and Michelle Kwan, whose immigrant family struggled economically to help achieve reach her Olympic dreams.

The film will run in its full 90-second version online, and will be cut into short form commercials to run on television in more than 20 countries. Additionally, P&G will create and share films highlighting the personal journeys of athletes such as Kenworthy and Meyers Taylor. All of the efforts will direct consumers to a dedicated site, www.loveoverbias.com and to share a #loveoverbias hashtag on social media.

The campaign is part of the company’s larger effort to use advertising to spark cultural conversations (such as Always’ “Like a Girl” or Ariel’s “Share the Load.”

“At P&G, we aspire to create a better world for everyone — a world free from bias, with equal representation, equal voices and equal opportunity,” said Marc Pritchard, P&G’s chief brand officer, in a statement. “When the world is more equal, society is better and it leads to economic growth. Unfortunately equality is limited by biases, and we recognize we can use our voice to be a force for good and shine a light on the bias that limits human potential. We hope to promote open discussion, influence attitudes, and ideally change behavior.”

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