BSSP’s Mother’s Day Tribute Honours Every Type of Mum

Over the years, Mother’s Day has become just another Hallmark Holiday with the requisite flowers, cards, presents and breakfasts in bed. With commercials running around the clock thanking June Cleaver-type Moms for all they do. But Mother’s Day can also be very triggering. Despite what we’re fed in culture, Motherhood is not the same for everyone. There are many different kinds of moms out there…many who don’t get celebrated. 

Ahead of this year’s holiday, the team at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP) wanted to create something that puts the spotlight on Moms of all kinds. 

Featuring touching images and videos from the personal archives of BSSP staffers - set to a voiceover from BSSP’s Cierra Moore, whose personal story with motherhood inspired pieces of the narrative - the video pays homage to all kinds of Moms. From every birth Mom, Dad Mom to every dog Mom. From the ones who raised children on their own to those who never got the opportunity to watch their children grow, to all the Moms who’ve lost their Mom. This video is BSSP’s celebration of all those who have stepped up to the role of Mom…pushing us to rethink what Mother’s Day looks like this year and hopefully for years to come.

This video is one of the first outputs from a brand-new innovation program BSSP introduced at the start of the year: Break Out Briefs, which asked staffers to ‘break’ societal norms and pitch a creative solution to five areas of culture that need some rethinking -- national holidays being one of them. National, monthly, and daily observances…they come around every year and the approach is usually the same. BSSP asked the team to think about what holiday/observance was due for a fresh perspective. Enter Mother’s Day.

Robyn Tenenbaum, BSSP: “I was inspired to write and create this for many reasons. This idea first began after the passing of my grandmother in 2019. I started learning more and more about bits and pieces of her life and really began thinking about the intricacies of motherhood. She hailed from an era where women were expected to become mothers above all else––no matter their drive for education or career paths. I started to see my Nana not just in her role as my grandmother, but as a woman. This new perspective applied to how I viewed my mother's life too. After seeing so many friends become mothers, or struggle to become mothers, and witnessing my mom experience her first Mother's Day without her own mother, really fuelled me to write something in honour of all the different shades of motherhood. BSSP immediately jumped on board to support--so many different wonderful women from the agency felt this resonated in some way, and most importantly, wanted to stand behind something that was a different take on how Mother's Day usually appears out in the world. We don't stop to think that a day dedicated to mothers might leave certain kinds of women out, or put energy into types of moms we didn't have (or aren't) in our own lives. BSSP truly helped me break what mother's day can mean or be about.”