'The mindset change we drove is the ROI for ShareTheLoad'

Procter & Gamble detergent brand Ariel is back with its long-term advertising campaign #ShareTheLoad. Ariel has been leading the conversation around gender inequality in Indian households through this campaign since 2015.

The eight-year-long marketing campaign has now acquired the status of a movement for social change as it has taken on the deep-rooted patriarchy of Indian society head-on with the question – “Is laundry only a woman’s job?”

On Tuesday, the FMCG giant released the sixth edition of this campaign that portrays “silent separation” of an Indian couple in a thought-provoking way, touching upon gender inequality that the brand has been addressing for long. By asking men whether they are growing together or apart from their partners, Ariel hopes to promote equal distribution of household chores as an essential element for healthier relationships.

exchange4media spoke to two powerful men behind this movement - Sharat Verma, Chief Marketing Officer of P&G, who conceptualised the unique marketing strategy around Ariel, and Josy Paul, Chairman, BBDO India, the creative brain behind the campaigns.

The conversation was to understand how they put together such an impressive campaign year after year and what impact their sustained hard work had led to.

Excerpts:

What is so special about the sixth season of the “Share The Load campaign”?

Verma: As you know, Ariel “Share the load” has been aiming to strike meaningful conversations that can help drive positive change and address the inequality in the division of household chores. This year, like every year, we want to bring out one more reason for men to share the load and share the load equally. This campaign “silent separation” is based on the unequal distribution of chores and the long-term impact it can have on relationships.

Every year we look at multiple data sources to find what insight would best take the conversation forward. We listen to the rich conversation around gender inequality that we already have started ever since this movement began in 2015. We've been having conversations around gender equality in the household. And therefore, our biggest source really is to listen into those conversations.

We try to explore the barriers that still exist before us to be able to make meaningful conversations. We looked at the data from research that we put in every year, and we ran into some startling facts -81 per cent of men said that the unequal distribution of household chores was impacting their relationships, 65% felt they were feeling a bit emotionally distant because of the burden of chores and the fact that this was not being addressed.

Our research with couples reveals that relationships, which are based on equality, trust and respect are healthier and stronger. Over 95% of couples interviewed in our study said that sharing the chores together brought them closer.

This year was about taking the conversation forward. Sometimes we take some relationships for granted. Not participating equally in household chores and inequality in the household can really have an impact on one's relationship. The film this year brings that insight to life. Josy and team have done a beautiful job of bringing that to life. The film ends by asking this question. Are you growing together or growing apart? This sums up what we want to say. We want to urge everyone to see the signs early on and address them.

What was the brief given to you and how challenging was it to execute?

Josy Paul: Brief is normally given when we do a campaign, right? But this is a movement, it's different from a campaign in the sense that Sharat and I and the team have been working together on this for more than eight years. There's no client- agency thing. The brief is already inside us, in our blood.

We just follow one of the important pointers Sharat placed years ago - Can we give one more emotional reason for men to share the load equally? That becomes the starting point for every campaign taking the movement forward.

The process is not in the format of what advertising agencies and clients do. It's a very collective and collaborative process. It starts with everyone sharing his/her observations, anecdotes, personal experiences, articles, and real-life stories. It's an emotional exchange program. We talk about this in a very deep way, which you don't normally see when we work on lots of other things. And all of this so that we can address the unequal distribution of household chores.

By understanding this from a cultural and contextual length, we get deeper into the subject to get a sense of what is really happening today. We even talk to experts, marriage counsellors and behavioural scientists. Then we arrive at two or three hypothesis and pick the most relevant one. Here the gut comes into play.  The process of making this ad is very immersive and exploratory.

Why is it important for P&G to run this campaign for so long?

Sharat Verma: We're one of the largest advertisers in the world. We want to use our voice for good. But we know that there's massive clutter. Consumers are subject to more than 5,000 different ads or messages every day and we believe that the best way to break that clutter is to step up and also use our voice as a force to have conversations on the world stage that can bring about change that the consumers want to see.

People today want to know what their brand stands for. So, what are the values behind the brand? As many as 80% of consumers in our survey said that they would like to be more loyal to purpose-driven brands, 64% of them said they would avoid brands based on their stand on social issues.

Consumers today have a strong point of view and expect their brands to have a stand on issues. Nine out of 10 consumers feel better about a brand that supports social causes. So, while we have the best products that money can buy, we provide great value-all with the benefits that consumers look for. We know the purpose of communication and our purpose of gender equality. The division of household chores helps us connect with consumers on shared values and beliefs.

Have you seen any significant change in the mindset of society since you launched the ‘share the load’ campaign in 2015?

Sharat Verma: When we started, 79% of married men in our survey said that laundry was only a woman's job. That number sequentially has come down. It was down to 52% in 2019 and then went down to the 40s and now it's 26%. So, there's a massive mindset change that's happened over the years, but there's so much work to be done. Creating social and cultural change takes time. You can't change your purpose every year and try to achieve it. You can't achieve anything without time and consistency. These key ingredients have helped us deliver the change that consumers want to see.

Your marketing strategy focuses around this campaign. What has been your ROI on this campaign?

Sharat Verma: The return on investment for this movement is the mindset change you have been able to drive. I told you about 79% going on to 26%, this is our ROI. We have been successful in using our marketing acumen to drive the change that consumers want to see.