UKG’s parent company, American Greetings is well known for its inventive adverts, but it marked this year’s Mother’s Day (which took place Sunday 14 May in the States) in a truly indelible way.
The advert follows a young woman entering a tattoo parlour holding onto a greeting card. The voice of the girl reads the card as the tattoo artist gets to work. As the tattoo artist finishes the girl places her wrist next to the card, which reveals ‘Keep Shining’ tattooed on her arm as she reads the words: “Keep shining, Love, Mom.”
The tattoo takes on a special poignancy when the girl says “I think she would have liked it” highlighting that her mother has passed away.
The film ends with the message ‘a card is just a card. But in the right moment it means everything.’
The thrust of this element of AG’s #GiveMeaning campaign reminds everyone that holidays and special occasions are not always easy for everyone.
“Real life is not like a typical greeting card ad,” says Alex Ho, American Greetings’ chief marketing officer. “At American Greetings, we don’t manufacture moments for advertising, we reflect them – and we make sure to remain authentic to our brand and respectful of our consumer by always focusing on what’s real and relatable, no more or less drama than what life already brings.”
Cards come to life with the messages and feelings that are inscribed inside, and they often serve as a physical memento of a meaningful connection. Through its ‘tattoo’ advert, American Greetings is hoping to inspire other people to share their stories using #GiveMeaning, and there are already many lovely memories on Twitter.
This campaign follows the World’s Toughest Job advertisement from American Greetings in 2015 that won a North American Effie Award. That advert mocked up a job interview where the interviewer laid out criteria such as no breaks, having to wait to eat, no holiday time and no salary to candidates only revealing at the end that the job was actually that of a mum.
