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It's a touching ad. We see young Olympic aspirants training and competing, to the accompaniment of a gentle piano arpeggio. Then the camera cuts to mom in the stands, beaming with pride. We see the words, "To their moms, they will always be kids."
P&G has also prepared a series of programs on the mothers behind many Olympian athletes, including Ryan Lochte, Jordyn Wieber, and others. "As the Proud Sponsor of Moms [sic], P&G presents this series about the mom behind this Olympic hopeful," the company says.
These are touching ads; I got misty eyed the first time I saw one of them.
But would it have been so hard for P&G to say, "To their parents, they will always be kids." Is it impossible to say, "Thank you, Mom and Dad."
Could we not have seen some programs on the fathers behind the Olympic athletes? Ryan Lochte's father was his swimming coach, and yet he doesn't get a mention.
Before you rush to enlighten me, I understand that P&G sells primarily to women. But that's not a reason to pretend that fathers don't exist.
This is silly, dumb, and out of touch with the realities of family life in this Olympic year. Fathers are not bystanders.
If P&G can be so wrong about contemporary families, perhaps its products are not appropriate for contemporary families. Perhaps we should reconsider when we reach for Crest, Gillette, Duracell, and other P&G products that are apparently meant only for women.
