VMLYR Rockin Mamas Rolling Stone

Mother making a rock sign holding a baby on a bed

VMLY&R: Rolling Stone’s Rockin’ Mamas

A rock’n’roll ode to the heroines of the pandemic – mothers

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According to research, Italian women carry out about 70% of the childcare and 56% of the housework in domestic settings. The global pandemic compounded these statistics and had severe consequences for women who found themselves not only managing children’s care and home schooling, but also working remotely and taking on the majority of domestic chores.

Rolling Stone, famous as one of the world’s most iconic rock music magazines, is also well-known for giving a voice to underrepresented communities and promoting equality and inclusion. These two elements combined to inspire the insight that during the pandemic, the ultimate ‘rock stars’ were, in fact, mothers.

Late nights and days of excess and unruliness, VMLY&R's campaign for Rolling Stone wanted to showcase that real rockstars nowadays are no longer live on stage but instead perform every day in our homes. They are mothers. The true heroines who, during the pandemic, had to reconcile smart-working and home-schooling, night feeding and endless calls.

The aim of the “Rockin’ Mamas” project was to celebrate rockstar mothers, make people reflect on the difficult situation mothers had to face during the pandemic and to drive awareness of the issues that Rolling Stone covers beyond music. The 90-second film, shot by internationally acclaimed award-winning director Ali Ali, is a rock ode to mums around the world. Its main protagonists are not actresses but real mothers of various nationalities, including British singer DeeLayDee who lent her voice to the project.

The campaign earned numerous awards at the Eurobest Festival and the D&AD Awards, as well as the Print & Publishing Silver Lion at Cannes Lions.