Maltesers has launched a new campaign with the help of AMV BBDO that spotlights the challenges mothers face in the workplace in a bid to help ‘lighten the load’.

Where women continue to face societal pressures ‘to have it all’, many take on the double burden of work and caring responsibilities. Responsibilities at home often still fall on mums disproportionately. Despite a push toward a more equal society, research commissioned by Maltesers has found that 55% of mums in the UK say they need more help from employers and colleagues to be the working mum they want to be.

To draw attention to the challenges that mothers often face in the workplace and help make things a little bit easier, Maltesers' new Motherlover campaign uses the brand’s lighthearted tone of voice to shine a light on this important topic using fun and humour.

The campaign, which was created with the help of AMV BBDO, celebrates the achievements of working mums and those who help them along the way. In different iterations, the campaign uses the brand’s humorous tone of voice to show the different ways that people can help working mums and celebrate those who help lighten the load.

The campaign features 10 targeted messages, all designed to give different communities a role to play in supporting the working mums in their lives. Each message has been inspired by the real stories and experiences shared by mums. From colleagues and employers to partners and friends, the various different executions share simple yet highly appreciated small things different people can do to help working mums manage their roles.

One iteration of the campaign shows a woman called Dani posing as a voiceover explains the way in which she better understands the role of her parent colleagues. The voiceover states: “Dani is an all-time Motherlover. She once thought school pickups were a kind of truck. Now she understands if people need to leave early.”

Another shows culinary boss John stand proud as a voiceover explains the way he understands his employees' needs. The voiceover says: “John’s a monumental mother lover. He knows when mums say they need flexibility they don’t mean yoga classes.” The simple format places a spotlight on the individuals helping to ‘lighten the load’ as the voiceover explains their deeds incorporating Maltesers’ fun-loving tone of voice.

Supporting mothers at work

Stats from the All In Census reveal that the advertising industry alone has much work to do when it comes to supporting working mothers. Over half of the women who responded to the census felt that taking parental leave has negatively impacted their career progression. Where women hold a large proportion of the purchasing power, making sure they are supported and represented in the workforce and in the work is not just the morally right thing to do, it's also good business.

To execute the ‘Motherlover’ campaign successfully, Maltesers wanted to ensure that the creative was reflective of the real-life issues that mothers face in the workplace.

“We needed to ensure that the campaign was rooted in real experiences, advisory and research. We worked with The Outsiders to develop a thought-provoking white paper that highlighted the realities of being a working mum.” explained AMV BBDO’s Creative Julia Merino, who developed the campaign alongside Ricardo Porto.

She continues: “Leveraging the iconic Maltesers tone of voice, we turned these stories into celebrations of the everyday heroes who lighten the load of working mums. Humour is an under-utilised emotion that has the power to reach those who might not otherwise engage with a topic like this. As a working mum myself, I hope this campaign inspires people to think how they can better support the working mums in their lives”.

The campaign tackles the much-debated topic of flexible working in a way that resonates with audiences and normalises the need to have flexibility for working mothers. By incorporating humour the campaign avoids the empathy fatigue and cynicism that can so often puncture purpose-driven advertising.

To further support working mothers and add action to awareness, the brand is also teaming up with The Guardian and Peanut App, the first online community to connect women through all stages of motherhood. With Peanut, Maltesers has created a new content hub called ‘Work & Motherhood’ which provides actionable tips, tools, and real-life advice from real mothers.

Women can join the group in the Peanut app and connect with other mothers. The group aims to facilitate honest and open discussion about the challenges working mothers face to help come up with new ways people can step up to support them.

As part of the campaign, Maltesers will also collaborate with The Guardian on a series of positive and helpful articles to bring to life the concept of allyship for mums in the workplace. A private comedy tour will also be held across select UK workplaces with comedian and mum Jess Fostekew. The campaign is part of the brand's ongoing partnership with Comic Relief to work towards a future where women no longer face injustice.

The ‘Motherlover’ campaign is a perfect example of how a brand can lend its tone of voice to push forward real societal issues whilst still keeping the joy and lightheartedness that connects audiences to the product.