Mother’s Day 2024—How Calm, DoorDash and other brands are honoring moms

Moms are the closest things to superheroes on Earth. While every day should be an opportunity to appreciate them, Mother’s Day is an extra special moment to celebrate. Like millions of people around the world, brands acknowledge the monumental impact of mothers in our lives. To all moms—near or far, present or future, with us or gone—Happy Mother’s Day. Also read: Top 5 creative campaigns from the past week Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here Here’s how several brands across a variety of categories are honoring moms—and promoting their products—in 2024. Calm America’s favorite mama, Donna Kelce, stars in Calm’s Mother’s Day campaign with her own sleep story on the app, “The Rules of Football.” Riddled with Kelce family Easter eggs, like her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe and a recount of the football games she’s attended for sons Travis and Jason, Kelce’s story schools listeners on all the football rules. Cricut Craft brand Cricut teamed up with local women artists in four U.S. cities to make murals using their Cricut cutting machines. The murals are inspired by women in the artists’ lives and communities to pay tribute to them on Mother’s Day. Each artist—Alice Lee in San Francisco, Sade Channell in Austin, Texas, Bianca Romero in New York and Katie Lukas in Chicago—was able to use Cricut DIY smart cutting machines to incorporate intricate details. A dedicated landing page shows off the finished murals. Also read: How brands celebrated April Fools’ Day St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital released a “Mom’s Know Best” content series to showcase parenting advice from moms of St. Jude. Featuring funny and poignant stories, the series aims to give moms different points of view about what works, what doesn’t and what’s most important when your child is diagnosed with cancer. Maple Leaf Foods “Yo Mama” jokes can be hurtful, which is why Maple Leaf Foods’ campaign from Sid Lee rewrites them from something mean into meaningful expressions of appreciation. The “Better Book of Mom Jokes” campaign features children reading wholesome, appreciative versions of the jokes. Examples include “Your mom is so energetic, caffeine relies on her to get through the day” and “Your mom is so trustworthy, recipes never hide their secret ingredients.” "We're thrilled to launch the ‘Better Book of Mom Jokes’ to recognize and appreciate mothers across the country,” said D’Arcy Finley, VP of brand and marketing, Maple Leaf Foods. “This concept underscores our commitment to celebrating motherhood and is intended to rewrite how we talk about moms–paying respect to the strength they show on a daily basis.” DoorDash Not everyone can be with their mom on Mother’s Day, and that can be pretty tough, especially for those who recently moved out of their family home. DoorDash is orchestrating emotional reunions for children who, due to different circumstances, have been separated from their mothers. DoorDash selected four people and delivered them, flowers in hand, to their moms. The project was created with digital agency Dept. In addition, the brand launched a content series in which creators Allison Kuch and The Basement Yard interviewed the moms in their lives and asked everything from deep to awkward questions, allowing them all to discover more about each other. The campaign will run until May 12 on DoorDash’s social media channels and paid social. ‘Fuck Mother’s Day’ Ad creatives Maddy Kramer, Jessica Mottola and Lauren Varvara are leading the “Fuck Mother’s Day” initiative, which tells politicians: “When you ban abortions at 6 weeks, you’re not pro life, you’re anti mom.” On the website anti-moms.com, you can share an anti-Mother’s Day card on your social media tagging politicians or buy merch, with all proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. Since Roe v Wade was overturned, 14 states have banned abortion and six states have added a restriction of six weeks. Five more states—Wisconsin, Arizona, Iowa, Montana and Wyoming—are taking abortion rights to the ballot this November. Moneygram MoneyGram International Inc. invited customers to make custom cards for their moms using generative AI. “Make Your Mother’s Day” invites people to visit a microsite, upload a photo of them and their mom and let AI work its magic. Generated from over 180 potential scenes, the result will be a custom digital card that offers a funny and memorable way to celebrate. Anyone who shares their card on social media will be entered for a chance to win a trip home to hug their mom in person. The campaign comes as Mother’s Day tends to experience higher cross-border payment flows globally, as families send money home for long-distance celebrations. Hampton Water Rosé wine brand Hampton Water and Jon Bon Jovi are gifting the Mother’s Day gift of a lifetime—a personal phone call from Bon Jovi. People nominated their moms or a mother figure in their lives for a chance to win the surprise phone call by scanning a QR code found on different sales materials found at participating Bally’s properties, including Atlantic City, Dover, Twin River Lincoln, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi, Kansas City and Quad Cities. Nominations closed on May 5. “We wanted to do something special for all the incredible moms out there, and what better way than to have Jon Bon Jovi personally reach out and make their day,” said Jesse Bongiovi, Jon Bon Jovi’s son and co-founder of Hampton Water. “This is a unique opportunity for fans to show their appreciation and give their moms a memory they'll cherish forever.” Marias Gamesa PepsiCo’s Mexican cookie brand Marias Gamesa announced its second-annual “Cafecito con Marias Gamesa” campaign, which aims to create a virtual village where modern-day moms can find community, conversation, and connection. The month-long campaign encourages Latina moms to celebrate the joys and challenges of motherhood while engaging in authentic conversations with like-minded moms, including their own. This year, the brand released a digital spot, “Marcale a Mamá,” to kick off the campaign, showing how a simple call to mom can be the emotional support needed when navigating the unpredictable journey of motherhood. Walmart Walmart assembled a diverse group of famous moms including Paris Hilton, Whitney Cummings, Kat Stickler, Tia Mowry, Aislinn Derbez and Barbara “Babs” Costello to answer parenting questions live on TikTok including their own life hacks for parenting smarter—even when things get tough. My personal favorite: “If baby gets a bib, so do you.” Shoe Show Shoe Show’s heartwarming Mother’s Day campaign from McKinney pays homage to grandmothers in an ad that demonstrates how shoes are passed to the next generations. A 30-second spot shows how a group of women going through their late grandmother’s belongings find shoes that recall her style. A 60-second ad, “Runner,” follows an aspiring cross-country athlete who hides his desire to run, telling his mom he’s quitting. His mother’s intuition kicks in when she sees his worn-out shoes. A mother’s love and sacrifice shine through when she picks up extra shifts to surprise him with new shoes, expressing her support with a heartfelt note: “I want to see my baby fly.” Jolie Beauty and wellness company Jolie is celebrating the wisdom and advice moms give us, regardless of our age, through a campaign titled “Mom Still Knows.” The brand partnered with moms and boss ladies Candice Miller (designer); Sofia Karvela (creative director); Armelis Dorville (documentarian); Mireya D’Angelo (SoulCycle instructor); Erin Pollard (Fashion Partnerhsips at Vogue); and Kiren Singh (Co-Founder Arjan Singh’s mother) to showcase their personalities through out-of-home ads featuring their bathroom set-ups. The campaign aims to show how we should all follow our moms’ lead, because when it comes to style (and everything else), they know best. The campaign will appear on social media and in New York. Carefree Carefree’s “Protection for the Protectors” campaign launched on May 1. It features a slideshow of all the ways moms care for and protect their children and loved ones. The ad goes on to say that they need protection too, before introducing Carefree’s expanded product line, which now includes pads in addition to liners. */ /*--> */ Teleflora Mothers’ prior or current other titles may include daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend and more. Teleflora celebrates all those identities moms have beyond just “mom,” in a heartwarming campaign titled “MotHER: A Teleflora Love Story.” The ad captures the moments that shaped mom ahead of motherhood, from traveling the world and jumping out of planes to singing in a band. The campaign shows moms as wild, ambitious, adventurous and fun. It comes as a Pew Research Center survey found that being a parent is a key part of most moms’ personal identity, with 85% of them saying being a parent is the most or one of the most important aspects of who they are as a person. Urban Stems Mother’s Day is theoretically a day to spend time with mom, but UrbanStems’ campaign is all about leaving her alone. “Leave Mom Alone” aims to give moms what they’re actually craving on Mother’s Day—a moment of solitude. An “Alone Time” flower arrangement will include a hotel-style “Leave Mom Alone” hang tag to give moms everywhere a moment of tranquility by letting the flowers do the talking. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here

Mother’s Day 2024—How Calm, DoorDash and other brands are honoring moms

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