New Procter & Gamble Commercials Label Motherhood The 'Best Job'

Last Friday, we ended the week arguing whether being a stay-at-home mom constitutes "work" (again). Thankfully, 2012's resurgence of the Mommy Wars didn't last long. Instead, the biggest statement about motherhood over the past five days seems to come from a commercial.

Procter & Gamble debuted their "Thank You Mom" Olympic-season advertising campaign, and with this two-minute spot, the drug giant may just bring every mom in the country to tears. The lovely, moody first 20 seconds draws you in, then the music starts in earnest, and when they go ahead and dub motherhood the "best" and "hardest job in the world" ... you'll be hooked (whether or not your son or daughter is an Olympian).

Go ahead and try to watch without crying.

Of course, this clip joins the oeuvre of several tear-jerker ads about raising children. Here are five of the best. Tell us what we missed in the comments!

• Google Chrome: Dear Sophie

  A father uses the web to share memories with his daughter as she grows up in this video depiction. Music by: Ingrid Michaelson Song: "Sort Of" Album 'Everybody'

• Baby Driver

  A parent is having one of those moments in life that you never look forward to. The day your baby is going to borrow the car and drive off without you. We watch the moment unfold with a dad giving a few last pointers to his daughter

• Apple iPhone 4 FaceTime commercial

  Apple iPhone 4 FaceTime commercial. www.apple.com You can call 1-888-FACETIME with your iPhone 4 & talk to an Apple rep live over Facetime. From 8am to 8pm CDT. The actor at the end is Ryan Lane (not Matt Damon). www.imdb.com

• Folger's Coffee "Peter Comes Home For Christmas" Full Length

  Full length version of Folger's extremely long-running "Peter Comes Home For Christmas" commercial. The little girl is probably a grandmother by now!!! Okay, probably not, but she did grow up to be a VERY nice lady! The actors in the ad are as follows: Greg Wrangler (Peter, better known as PEETER!!!) Susan Honey (Older Sister and inspiration to Joey Tribbiani) Kenneth Corey (Father) Colleen Hughes (Younger Sister or the little girl who, led by her older brother, develops a coffee sniffing habit at an early age) Kate Weiman (Mother) Thanks alot. Merry Christmas!

• Best Job | P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film

  Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. But it's also the best. This Procter & Gamble commercial honors everything that all moms do to help their children succeed by showcasing the amazing moms behind Olympic athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The hardest job in the world is truly the best job in the world. Join P&G in saying "Thank you, Mom" by sending your Mom a message of thanks at: www.facebook.com/thankyoumom

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, the ad was described as a 60-second spot. The commercial is actually two minutes long.

From our partners

• Mother's Day Starts Out Great And Then ... - NickMom
• I'm Not Doing Squat For My Son's Birthday - Mommyish
• 5 Ways To Nurture Little Yogis - LilSugar

Comments

[adsausage]

06:45 PM on 04/24/2012

Absolute garbage. Single father's do this every day, yet are rarely viewed in the same light. I hated it.

[mchance27]

09:19 PM on 04/23/2012

Sadly, that commercial failed to warm my cold dead heart.

[madhooker]

12:23 PM on 04/23/2012

Why do evil corporations always make commercials that make me cry?! I'm such a sellout.

[Bridgett Bell]

01:01 AM on 04/23/2012

Okay, so I read the article, then I read the comments, swore I wouldn't cry. And then I watched the commercials, and now I can't stop crying. It was so amazing to see the kidos grow up. And so amazing to see the joy on the parents' faces. I LOVED IT!!! To all of those taking care of kids, WOW!!! Keep up the good work!

[Kittenesque]

11:35 PM on 04/22/2012

Motherhood is not a job, it is bigger than that. Stop listening to politicians politicize and economize it. Any mom (not a politician's wife) will tell you that they will do this "job" of giving love for free. So will any dad.

Signed,
A feminist.

[Sistagirl Young]

10:27 AM on 04/22/2012

Aww, no fair. Sensational commercial. MOMS. I'd be lost without mine...and I'm 62. Life

[Snow Horton]

08:42 PM on 04/21/2012

Yawn. Motherhood is not something to be cheering over. People have raised kids for about 10,000 years now easily. They did it without Hallmark for about 9950 of those years. Get over yourselves. I have a dog that is more awesome than your kid. Oh and unlike most mothers, I have a husband. Maybe marriage is the real job.

[jonsview2]

09:37 PM on 04/21/2012

Great comment! My wife is also the mother of our great children, manages my parent's care, keeps children and manages two households. If that isn't Olympic-size mothering--nothing is. Apparently sports defines ultimate achievement and effective motherhood. I have my responsibilities as a father too. We are also happily married. Imagine that! I like the Hallmark "jab." To each--his own, but we're not into outsourcing messages of sentiment.

[madhooker]

12:27 PM on 04/23/2012

I'm picturing you and your husband as the exact couple I always seem to end up getting seated with at wedding receptions. Thank goodness for complimentary bottles of wine. "Oh, your dog can carry its own leash? How PRESH." *downs entire glass of wine; refills*

[Michelle Mutsko Akins]

08:07 PM on 04/21/2012

To all the Dads out there thinking"Hey where's my commercial?" Relax, P&G will make one for you. Just not for Mothers' Day. You seem to forget what holiday is coming up. Support and show the world what it means to be a mom and not just a Mother. Can you comprehend?

[ZimbaZumba]

04:48 PM on 06/11/2012

Father's Day coming up and still waiting for a ty for dads.

[heavenlykyuubi]

07:32 PM on 04/21/2012

... And not a single tear was shed.
What do I win?

[Havana Thinks]

09:23 PM on 04/21/2012

I did not cry nor want to, just like you. Can I get a refund?

[Mike Dehart]

04:34 PM on 04/21/2012

As usual to all the fathers that taught thier kids to run, jump, swim, bike, hit or kick a ball, your contributions are of course meaningless. Because only mothers inspire their children to become Olympic athletes.

Pathetic.

[ursalita]

06:32 PM on 04/21/2012

Come on, the dads get their commercials. I just watched one today for Dodge: the father and son together in the Charger, "Imported from Detroit". Not the Olympics but still, American steel. Pathetic that you can't watch a commercial about moms without whining about it.

[llisa]

05:58 PM on 04/22/2012

And he can click on the "Dear Sophie" commercial right under the first one. It's lovely. And it doesn't make me want to sneer, "But what about the mother!?"

[Lindsey4184]

08:13 PM on 04/21/2012

Why would this be pathetic? Of course if you taught your child to play a sport as a father that's terrific. THis is simply acknowledging that the job of being the mother is a job not to take for granted because you never know what you might teach your child that makes them shine.

[nonny2619]

04:19 PM on 04/21/2012

Touching commercial, but unless I was hormonal or pregnant there is no way it would make me cry.

[madhooker]

12:30 PM on 04/23/2012

I started to cry pretty much immediately. Then I looked at the calendar. D'oh...rmones...

[nonny2619]

01:42 PM on 04/23/2012

Aww *hugs*

[greenbergrn]

09:49 PM on 04/20/2012

Warms my mommy heart but let's don't forget the dads out there. Remember Jim Craig 1980 Lake Placid scanning the crowd and saying "Where's my father"?