Whirlpool is addressing gender inequality in household tasks in a new campaign from Brazil that literally "washes away" excuses for not doing the laundry.

The campaign for Whirlpool's local Brastemp appliance brand, by FCB Brasil, centers on typical excuses given by family members who don't do the laundry, such as “I never learned how to do it,” or “I was going to, but you beat me to it.” Some of the excuses have been printed on t-shirts sent to about 200 opinion leaders, including journalists and influencers. When the shirts are laundered, the excuses disappear to reveal the message “Household chores are everyone’s chores.” 

A TV spot, which is also running across digital media and apartment building elevators, shows a Bratemp washing machine washing away the excuses and transforming the t-shirts. A small number of shirts were also sold on an online pop-up store, enabling people to send them as a “gift” to a partner or significant other.

The campaign follows research that found that while 93% of Brazilian women are responsible for laundry, only 56% of their partners do the household task regularly. Women, moreover, spend an average of 21 hours per week on household chores. 

“Doing the laundry is everyone’s job; our society can no longer tolerate a gender-based division of tasks,” said Allyne Magnoli, marketing director at Whirlpool, in a statement.

"The information about how to do the laundry, or other household chores, is available to everyone,” added FCB Brasil executive creative director Marcelo Rizério. “Many say they don’t know how, and yet they routinely perform tasks that are much more complex. The excuses are so superficial, and so dirty, that we decided to literally wash them away.”