Oh baby! Why parenting brands need to go beyond 'happy mum, happy baby'

Back in 2021, before I even knew I was pregnant, the all-seeing social media algorithms detected my mum-to-be status and, in celebration, they began regularly spamming me with the latest in nappy innovation, baby feeding hacks and parenting communities. 

I had seemingly reached a bizarre milestone in the advertising universe; entry into an unspoken club that I thought I would reject because I’m cool and don’t get suckered into those sorts of things. 

Parenting is complex and there are always fresh problems to solve.

But, as it turns out, I am not cool, I am a sucker for those things, and I welcomed it all, like a screaming newborn, with open arms. Because *no new news alert* parenting is complex and there are always fresh problems to solve and new, creative ways my baby finds to defecate over himself. 

Above: Rihanna’s spectacular maternity fashion should be the instigator to brands re-evaluating their approach to parenting.

Parenting is a category of advertising I'm enjoying right now, and I’m open and ready to receive everything. But why are some brands still parading the tired tropes of parenthood? Has global advertising handcuffed them to the past? And how are they surviving in 2023 on stock images of nuclear families (a fifth of families in the UK are single parent households and a third are blended), pristine ‘generic’ children (show me a child covered in Wotsit dust any day) and inauthentic depictions of parents in the home (I would rather see a baby floating in space than another child held aloft and cooed at)?  

 Why are some brands still parading the tired tropes of parenthood? Has global advertising handcuffed them to the past?

There’s a disconnect between this and the social evolution we are witnessing, and we need to let Rihanna’s spectacular maternity fashion be the war-horn to that evolution. How can parenting brands channel their spiritual Rihanna, wearing nothing but vintage Chanel and a Christian Lacroix crucifix over her bump? They. Could. Never. 

Above: TikTok offers a more real representation of parenting than most brands currently do.

But I have my own thoughts on how they can start feeling more authentic and creatively progressive. Gen Z are approaching 30, so these brands need to get a wiggle on. For instance, it always feels as though brands perceive parents to be fragile; that we couldn’t cope with seeing anything other than the perfect parent-child life. And that doesn’t mean that showing the worst of parenthood is the way to go. 

In most cases the parenting communities on TikTok are doing a way better job at this than the bigger brands could.

In most cases the parenting communities on TikTok are doing a way better job at this than the bigger brands could. But it also doesn’t mean we need to be showing parenting under the lens of happiness all the time. I go through at least a million different emotions over the course of a weekend with my baby.  

Brands should be braver at approaching the complex spectrum of emotions and scenarios we experience with our kids. Think about the colossal leaps that feminine hygiene advertising has made over the last few years. Gone are those ridiculous blue liquid product demos and the sheepish skirting around the word 'period'! I feel like it’s about time the parenting sector went through a similar transition to this.