The Mother Rising - Canadian Women’s Foundation | Clapboard Ad Archive
The Mother Rising campaign from Canadian Women’s Foundation, developed with Hard Work Club in 2021, delivers a raw and resonant call to re-examine the invisible and undervalued labour carried by mothers and family caregivers across Canada during the pandemic. With mothers spending an average of 95 hours each week shouldering unpaid care work, and more than one third reporting symptoms of depression—almost double the rate pre-pandemic—the campaign confronts the acute pressures and systemic inequities heightened over the previous year. Set within the public service market category, the initiative distinctly foregrounds the experience of women and gender-diverse people whose caregiving goes unrecognized, while also drawing attention to those especially burdened by poverty, discrimination, and gender-based violence. The work’s central proposition—gender justice as the remedy—positions Canadian Women’s Foundation as an authoritative agent of systemic change, advocating through research, funding, and national dialogue. What Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery, this documentary and social experiment approach eschews overt narrative or product solutions, instead providing a platform where viewers see their own realities mirrored in honest, diverse depictions of daily sacrifice and resilience. By centring real user profiles, the campaign cultivates empathy, authenticity, and urgency, reinforcing that true change is only possible through collective action and by amplifying the lived realities of caregivers themselves. The campaign’s digital amplification and integrated outreach empower the audience to share experiences, advocate publicly, and actively support the movement—marking a strategic departure from one-way storytelling toward participatory advocacy. Its focus on shared experience rather than singular heroics aligns directly with the Foundation’s mission to move women, girls, and gender-diverse people out of violence and poverty to leadership and confidence. Clapboard rates this 68/100. For an industry steeped in narrative closure and quick fixes, The Mother Rising is a blueprint for work that builds solidarity by privileging real experience and movement-building over momentary campaign intervention.
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