Hot Mommas

Yeah, don't get your homes up. This is an XX blog, not an XXX blog. I'm here to talk about the hottest thing going right now: Mom. That's right, the love, honor, respect (and buying and selling power) of Mom.

Being a Mom myself, I am glad to see that gone are the days of romancing "my Mom is the reason I'm the mess I am today" in film, literature and my personal favorite, advertising. Moms had it bad there for years. Decades, I'd say. One minute, Moms are June Cleaver baking cookies in pearls. The next? We're villainesses who destroy lives and force our grown children to finance their therapists' weekend homes in the Hamptons. Maybe only one other group has been as pigeonholed as the controlling, life-wrecking Mom: the generic 25-40-year-old, possibly-slightly balding, usually Caucasian XY. He's been the politically correct butt of jokes since before Reagan was in office.

"Momma made me do it."

But now it's 2012. The world is enlightened. Somebody, somewhere realized that in most cases ( I know unfortunately not all), Moms are a positive influence. PEOPLE LIKE THEIR MOMS. Heck, sometimes they even love them. Maybe even more important, someone realized that Moms are the ones who buy stuff. So it might not be a bad idea to make them feel good about themselves. Give them credit for trying, not blame for failing. And I for one, like it.

With Mother's Day just a few weeks away, the Momvertising is out there in full force. Hallmark always tugs at the heart and this year is no exception with their latest  in the "Tell Me" series "Tell Mom". Of course, the idea is, tell Mom what she is doing right. Casting is imperfect and therefore noticeable.  Sentiments were fragile and heartfelt. Advertising cynic though I may be, I turned to my almost teenager and started quoting lines back from the spot, complete meaningful looks.

But Hallmark and Mother's Day are just the tip of the Momvertising iceberg. Kudos to P&G (Cannes's advertiser of the year in 2008 and loaded with Lions for years) for their "Proud Sponsor of Mom" positioning. Those smart people who realized that Moms are buying everything and we should be nice? That was Proctor. Sure, you'd expect it from Pampers (they're actually breaking ground with XY's for this brand these days.) But recently, someone sent me a link to an Oil of Olay site, no doubt the latest from their "Generations" campaign. Check it at: Facebook: Oil of Olay  "My Mom shows me Beauty by Example" not only upholds the strength of Mom, but this Facebook page encourages you to talk about the good things you got from Mom. How often do you hear XX's do that?  It's a Facebook page actually worth visiting.

Thanks, Proctor & Gamble

But for me, the pinnacle of P&G's positioning revealed itself in the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Here's a taste: P&G: They'll always be kids.Of course, the cynic in me saw the ending of these spots a mile away. And you know what? I didn't care. Call me pre-menopausal (but not to my face), these spots moved me. And they threw the stake in the ground that nobody's for Moms like Proctor. (Unnamed car company recently hijacked this idea with a dad and daughter, but P&G got there first and more powerfully.)  With the London Olympics coming, how will P&G top 2010?

Sniff, here's a great start. London 2012 P&G commercial Yes, Moms are going to be hot this summer. You heard it here first.