Over the last 5 years, Ariel India has continuously sparked conversations around the unequal division of domestic chores within households urging more and more men to #ShareTheLoad. Off late, it has been heartening to see more and more families come forward to share their pictures, videos of doing domestic chores. When sons, husbands, and fathers share equal responsibilities of the house; they multiply the love for each other and bring much-needed comfort. Ariel is committed to enabling Happier Households by continuing to drive tis change and be an advocate of equal distribution of domestic chores. driving a change.
Ariel through its latest video aims at conveying a message so pertinent- What we learn in crisis will help in times of comfort. When we share the load, we multiply the love. It is a reminder of how in times of crisis family members have all come together to work as a unit and share the load of household chores. The film has already crossed 10 million views and is a throwback to the last 5 years of effort the brand has put in furthering this cause by raising pertinent conversations, as it brings back all its past editions.
Link to film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAKvjRMcPU0
Commenting on the Movement, Sharat Verma, CMO, P&G India and Head, Fabric Care Indian Subcontinent, said, “The recent times have been challenging and unlike anything we have seen before. But crisis is a great teacher. Today, more men are actively participating in household chores than ever before, and have probably realised through first-hand experience, the amount of effort and time it takes to balance work and household chores. We believe there is something beautiful when a son, father, or husband comes forward to #ShareTheLoad. Which is why, over the past 5 years, Ariel has continued to raise pertinent conversations to encourage more and more men to participate in household chores. This film urges all men to continue to #ShareTheLoad. It also recognises those who are leading the way in being equal partners and setting an example for all of us!!
Amidst the anxiety of the ongoing pandemic, Indian households witnessed a ray of hope. Men are sharing the load more than ever before, a movement that Ariel started way back in 2015. With laundry at its centre, we have always encouraged men to take up household chores and the crisis only helped us to deeply establish it as a norm. More and more men have joined the league of being Equal Partners. Ariel wants to move us all from intent to action by urging them to #ShareTheLaundry and take the first step towards #ShareTheLoad because irrespective of who does the laundry, with Ariel, the best stain removal is assured.”
In 2015, the brand raised a triggering question ‘Is laundry only a woman’s job’ drawing attention to the uneven distribution of domestic chores. With the 2016 ‘Dads Share The Load’ movement, the conversation was aimed at helping to address the root cause – which is the cycle of prejudice passed down from one generation to the next. Children learn what they see and, if there is inequality within the household, it will end up being passed on to the next generation. In 2019, with Sons ShareTheLoad, the core triggering question of the movement was – “Are we teaching our sons what we are teaching our daughters”? To address this, the film asked the mothers to be the change-makers, and change the way they are raising their sons, keeping them ready to ShareTheLoad tomorrow. 2020 Share The Load for Equal Sleep was all about impact and action. It highlighted the impact of the unequal division of chores on their wife’s well-being and leveraged it with men to drive an urgency to act.
The brand has seen a significant jump in families striving towards Gender Equal homes ever since the lockdown began. Fathers, sons, and husbands are slowly embracing the idea of being equal support to their mothers, sisters, and wife who have otherwise been primary caretakers of the family, lifting majority of the weight of the chores. Ariel through this video aims at giving out a message to all Indian households to continue sharing the load and make it a norm rather than an exception.
Ariel has been a torchbearer of bringing up the conversations around the need of gender-equal households. Earlier this year, Ariel took to various platforms and created innovative formats to motivate more and more men to share the load. Some activations like #ArielShareTheLoad challenge on Tik Tok, tie-up with Global ASMR artist Gibi, or the daily social media challenge called #ShareTheLoad star have created a lot of buzz for the campaign. Over the last 5 years, Ariel has been able to impact the thought process for millions of men. From 79**% men in 2014 who thought laundry was only a woman’s job, the number has steadily declined, being 41*% in 2019.
