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A viral video entitled “Mums and Maids” has captured the attention of Internet users worldwide. The video produced by Ogilvy & Mather (O & M) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) to encourage employers to give their domestic workers a day off has gained mixed reactions from netizens all over the world.
In the two minute-long video, several mothers in Singapore were asked a series of questions about their kids. Similarly, the maids who are taking care of their kids were asked the same questions.
The results of the social experiment seemingly reflects a deeper social problem happening in Singapore.
Most working moms in Singapore employ domestic workers or maids to help them in raising their kids. However, as their job becomes more demanding, they tend to spend less time with their kids. As a result, the kids stay longer with the maids rather than their own parents. In the process, the parents, especially the moms lose the opportunity to get to know their kids better.
According to the video, domestic helpers work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Unfortunately, most of them don’t get day offs.
A Way to Shame Mothers?
Although many were moved by the video, several netizens pointed out that the campaign portrayed moms in a bad light.
Some even commented that the video shamed mothers just to raise a point.
“Hmm shaming mothers not the way to go. I don’t see how not knowing your children well = give maids a day off. Kind of a roundabout way to get to a point,” netizen Lydia Shah commented.
Check out the controversial video below.
The Creators React
O & M Asia Pacific’s chief creative officer Eugene Cheong explained that campaign purposefully tackled the issue in a provocative manner in order to be effective.
“By showing how parents are losing out on their relationship with their children by always requiring their domestic worker to be around, we reposition their day off as an opportunity to enhance family bonding,” Cheong said in a statement.
The company also revealed that the families who took part in the film are also advocates of domestic workers’ rights.
“We jointly applaud these women and their families for their contribution to the cause. Whether you liked the film or not, let’s not forget that as a society we have failed miserably in our treatment of domestic workers. Many domestic workers toil day in and day out without the fundamental labour right of a weekly day off. We have been campaigning for this for more than a decade,” O & M’s spokesperson said.
