Is there anything more heartwarming than watching children of all ages fall over repeatedly?
From Proctor & Gamble and W+K comes “Pick Them Back Up,” a new spot that’s part of the “Thank You, Mom” campaign running during the length of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. If you’ll recall, P&G and Wieden have been leaders in mom joy, child guilt and intermittent bouts of crying since a 2010 Mother’s Day campaign, which set the stage for the very viral 2012 London Olympics spot “Best Job.” Since the initial broadcast of “Best Job,” most of the world has been stuck in a routine of enthusiastic weeping followed by hugging their mom until it hurts.
Adding a little humor to the affair (this is, if you’re a sociopath like me), “Pick Them Back Up” sees attractive young mothers repeatedly watch their children fall down before picking them up, thus transforming them into successful Olympic athletes. For those mothers whose children didn’t grow up to be competitive in winter sports on an international scale, well, your time was better spent leaving your kid on the ice and just working on you for a while.
Of course, this spot also begs the question, how did they film so many babies falling over? Were they stunt babies, or did they trip them with invisible wires or something? In any case, after seeing this on TV, your mother’s gaze will slowly drift over to the photo she has of you as a baby on her nightstand, and she’ll sigh a million disappointed sighs because you were once so cute and loving and now you apparently don’t “have the time” to give her a call once in a while. She’s right, you know, because you just watched this and it caused you do to nothing. Credits, and one in a series of new athlete-specific video, follow after the jump.
W+K PORTLAND
Creative Director/Copywriter Kevin Jones
Creative Director/Art Director Ollie Watson
Senior Producer Erika Madison
Account Team Eric Gabrielson / Jesse Johnson
Strategic Planner Dave Burg
Executive Creative Directors Joe Staples / Susan Hoffman
Head of Production Ben Grylewicz
PRODUCTION
Production Company Park Pictures
Director/DP Lance Acord
Executive Producer Mary Ann Marino
Line Producer Caroline Kousidonis
Production Designer Jason Hamilton