Ariel's new film brings alive the heartache of 'silent separation'

In 2015, when Ariel first launched its 'Share The Load' campaign, 79% of married men thought that laundry was a woman's job. Eight years later, it has come down to 26%. Striving to bring it to zero, the detergent brand has released the sixth edition of the campaign with the film ‘See the signs #ShareTheLoad'.

This year it highlights the long-term impact of unequal distribution of chores on relationships, urging more men to #ShareTheLoad for an equal and happy marriage.

The film showcases the story of an elderly couple and how they have drifted apart over a period of time. Their daughter points out to her father that the effect of disproportionate load on the mother could be the reason. Realising how he has been taking his wife for granted, he vows to share the load. In a soul stirring moment the husband asks, “Can we start again?” The film leaves the viewers with a thought-provoking question- “Are you growing together or apart?”

In an interview with afaqs!, Sharat Verma, chief marketing officer, P&G India, and vice president - Fabric Care, P&G Indian subcontinent, says the latest film is not targeted at a particular audience and has a message for everyone.

"Our eventual goal is to bring gender equality in the division of chores in every household. We try to appeal and drive the message in multiple ways. We appeal to some with the data, others with emotions, and to some others through influencers," he says.

While the elderly couple in the film may be a reflection for many others of their own relationships, they also alert young couples to early signs of inequality and the impact it's having on their relationships.

"Everybody is receptive to different things. This could be a message to many who thought they were doing a great job in sharing the load, but didn't see the obvious signs of inequality. It depends on where you are on that spectrum and what appeals to you," he adds.

According to a recent survey, shared by the company, 74% women have given up talking to their partners about sharing the load in the house. 78% women feel like withdrawing from the relationship because of the load on her. 65% of women feel an emotional distance from their spouse, out of this 92% feel the distance has grown over time. Over 95% couples surveyed believe that doing chores together will improve their relationship.

The Procter & Gamble brand has been committed to promoting gender equality through #ShareTheLoad since 2015. BBDO India has been working with Ariel since its conceptualisation in 2014. Every year it has addressed different issues related to unequal distribution of household chores.

Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India, says the brand gave the agency a brief eight years ago- to find one more emotional reason for men to share the load equally. And every year they begin with the question, 'What's next?'

While Paul admits that it is a challenge to identify a new theme every year, he also calls it a joy. They begin work on the campaign from a place of not knowing what it is going to be about and it is that process of discovery and uncovering the campaign that excites him.

"This is not like any other campaign. It's such a scary place because you feel like a trainee. Yet you know everybody else is also feeling the same way. We are all trying to find something. This year when we started, we felt it's going to be difficult. But three months down, we found that we've got six different ways of doing this," he says.

Paul says the latest campaign scared him for the first time and made him introspect if he is being an equal partner in his marriage. Working on the campaign for nine years now has transformed him as a husband as well. He now contributes more to the household than he did in the past.

"Sometimes what you try to change, actually changes you. But I know I'm still not doing enough. That understanding is what is fuelling me and I try to overcompensate on other things to make up for it."

A team of around 40 people worked on the campaign for around six months. Explaining the creative process, Paul says it was a non-linear and non-template approach. "It's unique and not the way we would do other campaigns. We are like an antenna trying to receive what is happening in society."

The agency and the brand completely collaborated and had several discussions on wide ranging topics like what's happening in society, in their families, personal anecdotes, things that they have heard from experts, marriage counsellors, and things they may have read. Among the different things that were shared was the insight that as people get older, because of certain inequalities in the home, a certain kind of distance and silence creeps in.

In the film, the daughter calls this situation between her parents as 'silent separation', a heart-breaking term for a marriage that has survived many decades. Its a term the team coined to explain the middle ground that the couple finds themselves in.

"We were wondering what to term it, because we wanted to find a resolution. The brand wants to take people to a better place. We want to be a brand that sees, feels, and heals. We thought if there is a term that helps everybody understand what they're going through, then there's a way out," Paul explains.

The daughter is also portrayed in a unique manner in the film. It is her advice that makes the father realise what had gone wrong in their relationship. "That's not seen before. We don't generally see daughters advising their fathers on relationships. We are portraying how the younger generation, the people who can see change, can speak about it," Verma says.

There is also a shift in the tonality of the male character. In the first edition of the campaign, the man is more imposing and commanding. Whereas, in the latest film we see a more vulnerable man.

Paul says they have adapted with the times. "The sensitivity index is high and people's ability to receive a message has gone up. Before the defences would be out. Now the defences are lower and messages are being received."

Verma sees 'Share the Load' more as a movement than a campaign. He says it may probably go on for the next decade as well because what it strives to achieve is going to take time. He asserts that marketers while doing purpose advertising need to ensure consistency and authenticity.

"In the midst of so much clutter, consumers want to know what their brands stand for and its not really an option any longer. A lot of causes take time, so moving from one cause to another doesn't help the brand nor the consumer nor the society. The other is authenticity- don't talk one thing and do another," he says.

Agreeing with Verma, Paul says purpose and cause are not seasonal. "It is a continuum. So we are not starting from zero, but from a place where we've left off last year. So whatever we do next has to be true to that movement."

He also suggests that brands need to go beyond just creating an ad and instead make it more interactive so that they give people experiences.