Social media is where new moms often go for support. But it can also breed a lot of self-criticism. Which made social the perfect place to spark a dialogue among moms about shifting that self-criticism into self-compassion. But we knew we could only have a truly meaningful conversation if the brand let moms take the lead. So we worked with macro and micro influencers across the full gamut of social channels: Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Snapchat. They started the conversation — and millions of other moms joined in.

“Caring for baby’s happy, healthy development” — this purpose drove Pampers to be the leading diaper brand for nearly 60 years. In marketing, this purpose showed up primarily in two ways: product superiority and a focus on baby. But parenting today is drastically different — and arguably much harder — than it was 60 years ago. The majority of new moms work outside the home, many of them go it solo, and they live far away from “their village,” their family network who can help with baby. And while there’s no instruction manual for having a baby, there is endless advice and judgment from every corner of a new mom’s world, especially in her social feed. Recognizing these challenges, Pampers recently evolved their purpose from being solely focused on babies to also lifting up parents. The objective of this campaign: Show up for moms in a powerful way.

The creative idea imagined a new reality for moms. What if the constant drumbeat of their negative inner monologue could be replaced with positive thoughts? What if, instead of worry, doubt, and guilt, moms felt encouraged, supported, and reassured that they were enough? What if self-criticism could be shifted to self-compassion?

What if moms could see themselves through the eyes of their babies?

This powerful reframing gave mothers a valuable gift — the realization that, to their baby, they are perfect. And it spurred an integrated campaign with affirmations at the center — from the brand to mom, from moms to other moms, and most importantly, from mom to herself, encouraging all moms to #ShareTheLove.

As we dug into the challenges new moms face today, one statistic stopped us in our tracks: 9 out of 10 moms worry they aren't doing a good enough job.

After wondering about the magical 10th mom and where we might find her, we unpacked this heartbreaking number. One question in our primary research was most revealing: “How many times a day do you think something negative about yourself as a mom?” Responses included: “You mean I could actually somehow keep count?!” or “I’d say 6–10 times a day. And some days are worse than that.”

Psychologists call this negative self-talk — we called it our new mission.

The deep irony of this negative self-talk and lack of self-acceptance is that mothers give their children so much patience, acceptance, and grace.

That became our key insight: Mothers give unconditional love to everyone but themselves.

We launched the #ShareTheLove campaign using a powerful :45 film that not only aired in broadcast and online, but was shared in social by top mom influencers Shay Mitchell and Chrissy Teigen. They were joined by dozens of micro influencers who shared the film, as well as their own insecurities and challenges with negative self-talk. Chrissy and Shay joined psychology expert Dr. Alexandra Sacks on Instagram Live to discuss their own experiences with self-criticism and how they’ve worked to overcome this issue. We created “affirmation tools” native to each social platform that moms could use to celebrate themselves and share some love with friends — Instagram and Facebook lenses, branded Giphy stickers, perfect-for-Pinterest affirmation images, and an innovative “heart to remind” on Twitter that let moms opt in for some encouraging words from a fellow parent.

We had big 2020 goals for #ShareTheLove. And we exceeded all of them within 72 hours of launch.

After just three weeks, the campaign achieved:

• 500 million+ video views — more than 10x the campaign goal

• 10 million+ likes, shares, and comments — 5x the campaign goal

• 37 million affirmations delivered through Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pampers.com

• The most engaging promoted video ever run on Pinterest

• 99.6% positive sentiment

• A million moms feeling the love. “@Pampers your recent commercial was a beacon of light through my darkness, even if it was momentarily. Thank you.”