ITC Sunfeast Mom’s Magic has collaborated with Ogilvy to launch a nationwide campaign #HugHerMore, with an objective to encourage everyone to hug their moms more frequently. The brand conducted a survey with 321 participants across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai in collaboration with Crownit to ascertain how hugging one’s mother, has changed over the years.
Titled as “The Happiness Hack Experiment,” the survey was conducted by the brand to understand the happiness level a person experiences when he hugs his mother. A brain tracking device was attached to the protagonist to measure the surge in happiness when he hugs his mother.
The survey saw participation from age groups of 13 to 35, both males and females. The survey was further bifurcated into segments of students, working professionals, homemakers, and youngsters staying with and away from their parents.
According to the survey, Gen Z and millennial students hug their mothers less frequently now than when they were children, with a decrease of 31% and 33% respectively. Working professionals hug their mothers less often than students do. Among the most common ways to de-stress, listening to music ranks first, followed by watching content on OTT platforms, and hugging mothers is in third place. Participants in a survey reported that they hug their children about six times a week, their spouse about five times a week, and their mothers about three times a week. When asked how they felt after hugging their mothers, over 60% said that they felt comfort, an uplifted mood, and happiness.
The digital video created to showcase the two-day experiment, the protagonist is engaged in various activities: posting on social media, consuming social media content, chatting with a friend on a chat app and hugging his mother. The maximum amount of happiness surge is tracked when the protagonist hugs his mother on the second day, giving an insight that the mother’s hug is indeed magical. Through #HugHerMore campaign, ITC Sunfeast Mom’s Magic appeals to every Indian to take a pledge to hug their mother more and spend more time with her.
Watch the film here:
Speaking about the survey and the social experiment campaign, Ali Harris Shere, Chief Operating Officer, Biscuits & Cakes Cluster, Foods Division, ITC Ltd., said, “Hugging is an expression of love and is integral for bonding between a mother and her children. As we grow older and life catches up, physical closeness, with our moms significantly reduces. The gap just keeps increasing leading to loneliness for mothers as kids become more independent. As a purpose driven brand, we have been vocalising support and making everyday problems related to moms a conversation in the mainstream. The intent has always been to communicate that ‘Mothers are the warmest superpower’. This year, on behalf of the mothers we wanted to convey the message to all children that hugging mothers is healing and magical for both. Our campaign, #HugHerMore is aimed to encourage everyone to hug their moms more often. Infact, our social experiment shows that hugging his mom gave a boost of happiness to the participant. As the New Year progresses, we should take a pledge to hug our mothers more just as we did when we were children.”
On the social experiment, Puneet Kapoor, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy South, “We are constantly seeking newer ways of getting happiness rushes to overcome our busy and stressful lifestyles. And for this, we often turn to technology and screens. While tech can provide us with temporary spikes of happiness, true happiness always seems to be illusive. With our screen-time going through the roof, it is time we turn to genuine human connections. It is time we turn to what I feel is the ultimate source of happiness, the source we came from – Our Moms. The idea was set up as a decoy experiment with tech being an ally. The social experiment reinforced the magical effect of a mom’s hug on the participant.”
