Motherhood is exhausting. And if you're a mom who does a manual job, it may be even more so. That's the message from Carhartt, the workwear and outdoor apparel brand, which pays tribute to those moms who do a "shift that never ends" in a Mother's Day ad this year. It's about as far from a traditional, gentle portrayal of motherhood as you can get. 

The spot, created in-house, was directed by Pam Thomas of Community films, who cast real-life laborer moms, such as farmers, welders, electricians, to authentically portray the physical heft, exhaustion and joy of being a working mother. 

Even after their tears and sheer physical fatigue from the workday, we see them move on to play time with their kids. The film ends with a sweet image of a mom asleep in a chair as her little ones tiptoe away. It then reminds moms to take a break on Mother's Day.

Thomas says the rawness of the women's emotion portrayed in the film came from casting real families and following their actual jobs. Their tears of exhaustion were real, like those from one mom who broke down after finally succeeding in getting a newborn cow to take milk from its mother. “It was an extremely intimate moment, and she was generous enough to share it and put herself out there. I was awestruck and inspired,” says Thomas. 

Some of the women wore their own 20-year old Carhartt gear in the spot, which the brand says is a tribute to its durability.