Every once in awhile a special commercial or ad campaign appears that blows me away like this one from ARIEL, a laundry company from India. It raises an important point about household chores and how it’s not just supposed to be the woman’s job to do it all. It’s sparked a debate and conversation that questions why men don’t help out more, even with just the laundry. This is sheer brilliance. Yes, it was created to ultimately sell more laundry product but the heart of the message is so important and so powerful that it doesn’t matter why it was made. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is that many wonderful moms will get assistance from dads…. many women will get help from men…. and countless boys will grow up with the mindset that they should help and pitch in all they can.

This was extra special to me because it reminded me of something personal that happened to me often whenever I traveled back to my homeland of Italy as a young man. I would always give a hand with clearing off the table after a delicious meal and  I will never forget the look on the faces of my uncles as they watched me actually do what they considered women’s work. Even my aunts and cousins would look in shock at me in disbelief but I assured them that I just wanted to help as a reward for the wonderful meal they served me. My uncles would always lecture me after my outrageous behavior that I was harming rituals and traditions that were centuries old. They would ask “what’s next? Dishes? The Laundry?!” I would just laugh and reply “I think it’s time to join the modern world.” They did not like it because over time, with each visit, I noticed more of them giving a hand after dinner and around the house. When our eyes would meet, I’d just smile and they would just shrug their shoulders.

Here’s the original video but it doesn’t have english subtitles yet. Click this link to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s post which has a video version with english subtitles. It’s a must see.
Here’s the story behind the campaign