April 20, 2022

Celebrating Mother's Day

Disney Viewers are Leaning Into Gift-Giving and Shared Experiences

by 

Disney Advertising

On Sunday, May 8th, people across the U.S. will get together with friends, families and pets to celebrate the power of motherhood. Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to better understand how Disney viewers* celebrate moms and how brands can best connect with these family-minded viewers.

Advertisements Surrounding Mother’s Day Inspire Viewers

Advertisements play a big role in providing insight into what matters to moms on Mother’s Day, and consumers appreciate the help! In fact, 88% of Disney viewers are favorable to Mother’s Day ads. Ads around Mother’s Day feel relevant (89%), help viewers learn about new products/services to purchase as gifts (86%), and enjoy how Mother’s Day ads show mom’s needs and wants (85%).

Relevancy drives results. For example, a social Mother’s Day retail campaign on ABC generated more than twice the average engagement against industry benchmarks.

Performed 2.2 times better when compared against industry benchmarks during similar time frames.

SPOILING MOM ON THIS SPECIAL DAY

Consumers celebrating Mother’s Day spend over $28B, in total. This year, 88% of Disney viewers plan on spending more or the same amount on Mother’s Day gifts than in 2021. Some of Disney moms’ favorite gifts to receive include food, cards, gift cards, and flowers.

Disney Viewers

89%

admit that it feels nice to give a Mother’s Day card/gift.

76%

agree that they put a lot of thought into Mother’s Day gifts/cards.

Celebrating Mom with Quality Time

There aren’t enough words to describe how special mothers are, which is why celebrating them is so important. This year, Disney viewers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day with their children (64%), their significant other (62%) and/or with their parents (46%). With endless ways to celebrate, Disney viewers shared some of their top Mother’s Day memories:

Spending time with my immediate family, relaxing and having a meal at home is a core Mother’s Day memory.

Enjoying all of the cute things my son made for Mother’s Day when he was back in kindergarten and having a nice, home cooked meal.
My favorite memory is getting breakfast in bed made by my four children. They decorated the house with handmade pictures and hearts.
Disney moms look forward to being celebrated for the day (60%) and share that they appreciate thoughtful gestures like breakfast in bed (59%), receiving a gift they wouldn’t have bought for themself (47%) and getting to pick how the family spends the holiday (34%).

TV Time Together

Nearly half of Disney moms want to stay in and watch TV and movies on their special day. For them, it is the perfect way to share in laughs, make memories. And they’re not watching alone! Strong co-viewing was seen across Disney Channel, Disney Junior & Disney XD, with The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) programs reaching 15MM moms on Mother’s Day Weekend 2021. Even more, over half of kids ages 2 to 17 co-viewed with their moms on Mother’s Day Weekend 2021.

During Mother’s Day Weekend last year, moms tuned into ABC for dramas, comedies and reality shows. Specifically, American Idol stood out as the most watched program by moms that weekend!

TV Moms Rock, Too

Moms on-screen can be just as inspiring as moms in real life. In fact, Disney viewers have a lot of favorite TV moms that they admire for teaching responsibility, loving their children endlessly, and showcasing good values.

Although the list of favorite TV moms is extensive, some favorites include: Rebecca Pearson on This is Us, Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show, Marge Simpson from The Simpsons, Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development, Claire Dunphy on Modern Family and Ruby Johnson on Black-ish.

Disney Viewers Shared:

“Ruby Johnson on Black-ish is an iconic motherly figure. She shows a balance of warmth, heart, and strong-willed values, making her someone I look up to.”

“Claire Dunphy on Modern Family. She can be intense and competitive, but there’s no doubt she loves her family. I admire how she juggles all the pitfalls involved in her life while still being a caring mom.”

Advertiser Takeaways

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8th. As this holiday approaches, keep in mind that Disney viewers are…

Eager to treat their moms to gifts and experiences

Looking to advertisements to help guide their gift-giving

Watching TV and movies together as a means of celebration

*Source: Disney Dialogue, Mother’s Day 2022, March 2022
Source: ABC “Impossible Encounters” Effectiveness Study, July 2019 Source: Mother’s Day 2022, March 2022
Source: Nielsen NPower; LSD; R&F Program Report; NOTE: Mother’s Day 2021 (5.9.21)/Mother’s Day Weekend 2021 (5.7.21-5.9.21); TWDC roll-up includes ABC, DC, DJR, DXD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FRFM, FX, FXX, FXM, NG & NGWD
Source: NRF’s Annual 2021 Mother’s Day Spending Survey, Conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics
Source: (1) Scarborough. 2021 Release 2 Total. Streaming video services used last 30 days: Hulu. (2) 2021 November Cord Evolution.