NOW CLOSED Take a look at Fiat's viral video "The Motherhood" and tell us what motherhood means to you - there's a £200 Mamas & Papas voucher to be won!

[KatieBMumsnet]

In anticipation of the launch of the new Fiat 500L next year, the folks at Fiat have released a video showcasing what motherhood is like for one woman. Here's what they say: "We hope that by exaggerating the reality of embracing a new life stage in this viral will raise a knowing smile from mums everywhere."

Please take a couple of minutes of your time (well 3.12 to be precise) to and come back to this thread to tell us your thoughts on the joys of motherhood. Are there any parts in the video that you feel sum you up? Was there anything you particularly related to? What line do you think is missing from the song? We know this may not be everyone's cup of tea, so if you don't think this portrays motherhood in your eyes, what does? How would you describe how being a mum makes you feel? What are the highs and lows of life post children vs life before?

We want to know how Mumsnetters describe motherhood, so please add your comments below.

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Mamas & Papas voucher.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Here's what I think is missing from the video

1. ANY mention of the father(s) of the children. It's like parenthood, especially the full time stuff is solely a woman's responsibility.

1. While the lines about episotomies was funny, the woman had a flat stomach, was nicely dressed, in full makeup with blowdried hair. It irritated me the whole way through.

I notice all the positive comments on YouTube are from men. I wonder if this advert, while a bit funny, still plays to the trope that parenthood is solely a woman's job, especially the nastier bits. What really would have been funny would have been the same comments coming out of a man's mouth. Whenever do you hear men moaning about balancing work with 'infant defecation'?

mine are 12 and 10 and (i may have slightly rose coloured specs on here) i honestly cannot recall a time i was ever covered in snot or poo or my floor or work surface looked like that - well, not that bad anyway - so i couldn't relate to it at all. Too whingy - you just get on with it don't you? - and too entitled look I AM A MOTHER - well, even slugs breed dearie.

Oh and StewieGriffinsMom middle sentence!

I get that advertisers want to appeal to mothers and single them out as a demographic for certain products. To choose to do it with a car that is essentially no bigger than your average travel system pram is bizarre.

I love it. Love her. Have watched in three times, liked and shared on Facebook. It's hilarious and about the best summation of modern motherhood I've seen. I'm not sucking up to get the vouchers!! I just think it is fantastic and whoever wrote it deserves lots of glittering advertising awards.

Sure she is well groomed but where I live all the mums look like that and we have the same white rug

I agree the car seats wouldn't all fit in the car though. But there are lots of those cars round here, usually driven by mums who have (finally - hurray!) got through the car seat stage. She's a few years off that I'd say given at least 2 of hers would be in car seats.

Anyway. Motherhood means to me.. Gosh so many things. A constant, constant grind. Never ending. Always on duty. Day and night you are needed. Huge responsibilities and huge stresses. But also it's so wonderful and life- affirming and fulfilling and funny and more REAL than anything you 've ever done before. So although you'd sell both kidneys for a rest you wouldn't really if it meant missing any precious moments with your kids.

Someone said to me that the days are too long but the years are too short and that makes absolute sense to me.

the video made me laugh - very good.

I would LOVE one of those cars :) Don't know how she would get 3 kids in there though.

mums have orgasms too you know....

Well, I didn't cringe quite as much as I thought I would.

Other than when you said 'viral' - is this 2002?

aaaaanyway...

Where is the Dad? Overtones of that hideous Asda ad with Martyr Mum.

I am a mother. I don't let it define me nearly as much as ad agencies would like to think.

I really liked it and shared it with other Mum friends - yes she's pretty, yes it's twee but it is funny and it's got something for everyone....surely every Mum will muster a wry style at the thought of episiotomoy stitches or pressure to breastfeed. I don't drive so the ad is wasted on me but it has resonated, I think it's very clever and well made and I'll show it to DH later for a giggle

Hi all, thanks for your comments so far. Just to point out, this video features the NEW Fiat 500L - a larger version of the 500, with 5 doors and room for three in the back. More info can be found here: www.fiat.co.uk/uk/fiat-500L/design-comfort

I thought the concept was a good one but for some reason the execution didn't work. I think I find it a bit annoying to be told something is a viral when let's face it, it's an ad pure and simple. Send the advert around for us people! Buy this car people! It's got a model with long blonde hair posing on the bonnet! And she's just like you .
I'm not going to win the vouchers am I?

I absolutely hate it. Drivel.

You can shove your vouchers up your exhaust pipe, Fiat. Oh, and being a mother means being a human being and having the critical faculties to hate your crappy adverts. Cheers.

Ha. Liked the video :)
I no longer carry a nice handbag it's been replaced with a peppa pig backpack!

Haven't watched it but find the concept of discussing a viral campaign in advance a bit odd. Just call it a campaign. Please!

The video did make me smile wryly at points, it is well made and the lyrics are clever. But overall it irritated the heck out of me....even allowing for the fact that the 'mother' was somewhat too well groomed and slim to relate to (but lots of the mums around my area look like that), the video

a) focusses on all the negatives
b) overplays and stereotypes those negatives. Do you really bore everyone with your baby details and birth wounds when you have 3 dcs?? Really???
c) as has been mentioned elsewhere, what about the dad?
d) why the mess? why the chaos? (ok, that's a repeat of 'why the negativity?' isn't it?...sorry)
e) has nothing at all to do with the car. Nada. No connection at all.

Finally, I would just like to say (as a full time working mother of 3) that I have never had baby sick on my work clothes or on my laptop. Nor has my kitchen counter looked like that.

What does motherhood mean to me? (Not that Fiat will be choosing me for their vouchers after that little rant...) All the good stuff: a reason to work hard and rush home from the office; cuddles on demand; having people who absolutely believe in you, and who you would never ever let down; the joy of watching your children's personalities develop over time into real people; the rush of pride and joy when one of your children does something amazing or achieves a goal or is just very kind or thoughtful towards somebody else Love

Not cars....

I quite liked it -- right up until the point where the PR company demonstrated their lack of faith in its capacity to go viral on its own merits, by paying for it to be promoted here. I thought the whole point of a viral campaign was that it left it to the punters to do the work of spreading the word. Top-down management of viral spread seems a bit desperate.

KatieBMumsnet
There may be 3 seats in the back but with 3 children of the ages in the advert you would need a baby seat and 2 high back boosters and I really doubt you could fit them in the car. So the advert is very misleading and the car is not fit for its advertised purpose (unless you can show me a picture of the children actually fitting in the car they are advertising).
Some advertisers are much more stupid than most mums.

Also, God, isn't it depressing how the ethos of Mumsnet is captured, bottled, harvested for retail purposes. With women as the main shoppers in the family, advertisers have always tried to capture women's conversation for advertising, but it is still endlessly dreary to see it.

What does motherhood mean to me?

Asides from losing sleep and looking permanently bedraggled...

Motherhood means having a bond with a person that you could never replicate in any other way.
It's being able to understand toddlers talking gibberish when it makes no sense to anybody else.
Motherhood means coming to terms with crumbs on your carpet.
Best of all; it's an unconditional love from a wee person who relies on you for everything. It's demanding, stressful and crazy at times, but it's just a lovely thing really.

That song sums me up. I really have gone to work with the lingering smell of milky baby sick on me and my kitchen surfaces are a sticky mess during my childrens waking hours. If someone offered me 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep in exchange for a kidney I would happily accept. I really like the car although its not obvious from the advert that it is a larger version.

I'm not sure how to sum up motherhood. I guess for the most part it is pure unconditional love.

I thought it was dire.

I just looked at her perfectly groomed self with her 3 beautiful children and fab house and beautiful car and got pissed off with her for whinging on. And anyone who leaves their laptop on the floor plugged in when they've got a toddler deserves to have it smothered in yoghurt imho.

I did let out a slight titter at 'soft play, gangsta'.

Nice try but it didn't reach me. I don't think I fit the demographic though.

Irritating advert, trying too hard.
Boring stereotypes, downtrodden housewife.

Car is ugly, and overpriced.

Agree that it's more focused on the early years.

As the parent of a nearly school aged child my challenges are mainly negotiation, negotiation and negotiation.

That and the old work/parent balance.

As a single parent I thought the car looked great - for one adult one child... Pretty cool as well.

The rap was a bit twee, I hated talking about piss and shit when my son was young, but I did want my life back!

The best bit of the ad is the last verse, cheese-grater, peace-maker etc. should have done more of that clever stuff imo.