It’s hard to get emotional over toilet paper. But Angel Soft is giving it a try this Father’s Day with a tear-jerking Web video that — plot twist! — uses the holiday to celebrate single moms.
In the two-minute video, the brand’s first work from Deutsch LA , adults raised by single mothers get misty talking about Mom’s struggle to fill both parental roles. These moms fixed cars and taught their kids to throw a punch, we’re told, but also showered them with affection. "Sometimes she had to be softer, sometimes she had to be stronger," reads the copy, echoing the brand’s new tagline.
The spot ends with a message: "Happy Father’s Day, Mom."
The decision to honor Mom on Father’s Day began with the brand’s new tagline, "Be Soft, Be Strong," which the agency had presented in its original pitch for the business, said Karen Costello, EVP and executive creative director at Deutsch LA. "We took two words that are most commonly used to describe toilet paper product across the category," she said in an email, "and used them as human attributes."
But it was a single insight — that adults who grew up without fathers often wish their mothers a "Happy Father’s Day" — that inspired the strategy behind the video.
"As we dug into this group of moms and the children they raised, we found that many adult children send their moms Father’s Day cards," said Costello, "and we thought this was an incredibly beautiful and powerful way to let these women know how special they are."
Toilet paper advertising that goes beyond the promise of product attributes is becoming more common of late. Most recently, Quilted Northern — which is owned by the same company as Angel Soft — debuted a series of darkly comedic ads, created by Droga5, in which bathroom toys recount the horror they witnessed when cheap toilet paper failed.
Like its sister brand, Angel Soft was eager to do something different, said Costello. "Angel Soft wanted to disrupt the category, create an emotional connection with their consumer and a point of view from their brand that had longevity beyond just product attributes," she said. "We presented the idea of ‘Be Soft. Be Strong’ as a big campaign idea."
Georgia-Pacific awarded the Angel Soft business to Deutsch LA last year in the same creative shootout that handed Quilted Northern to Droga. The brands had previously been handled by DDB and Eric Mower + Associates.
Creative credits
Client: Angel Soft
Agency: Deutsch LA
Chief Creative Officer, North America: Pete Favat
Executive Creative Director: Karen Costello
Executive Creative Director: Juan Oubina
Associate Creative Director: Melissa Langston-Wood
Associate Creative Director: Jorge Ortega
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Integrated Producer: Rachel Seitel
Integrated Producer: Win Bates
Associate Integrated Producer: Justin Polk
Music Director: Dave Rocco
Production Company: Steelhead
Director: Eric Kaufman
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Producer: Matt Johnson
Line Producer: Melissa Verdugo
Editor: Morgan Griswold
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Producer: Simone Gurren
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Broadcast Motion Design Director: Jason Porter
Executive Producer: Ted Markovic
Mixer: Chase Butters
Post Facility: Company 3
Executive Producer: Rhubie Jovanov
Senior Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld