Survey Findings Inspire Ivorys New Social Community for Moms The Soap Dish

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Despite the thousands of items designed to simplify moms lives today, a recent survey conducted by Ivory revealed 80 percent of American moms think motherhood is actually more complicated today than it was 20 years ago. And while they may be more stressed out and busier than ever, almost nine out of 10 moms think theyre doing a better job balancing it all than their mothers did.

The national survey was commissioned by Ivory, Procter & Gambles most iconic consumer brand, in an effort to better understand the everyday attitudes and insights surrounding today's mom. The survey results became the impetus for Ivory's new online social community, The Soap Dish, and its partnership with Emmy^® award-winner and funny mom, Melissa McCarthy.

The survey of more than 1,000 moms uncovered insights on the realities of their lives:

Mommy Gives Herself a Time Out in the Bathroom
In the circus that is motherhood, todays mom juggles many tasks everything from ringleader to short-order cook so it's no wonder that 30 percent of moms surveyed found the most complicated aspect of motherhood was finding more "me" time. A possible solution? Perhaps follow the 66 percent who confessed to hiding in their bathroom for some much-needed alone time.

Whose Kid is it Anyway?
With modern media at our disposal, parenting advice has become a persistent presence. According to the survey, moms say they receive parenting advice an average of three times a week, whether they ask for it or not. Family (62 percent) and friends (59 percent) continue to lead the advice train, while blogs and social media plague 41 percent of these moms under the age of 40.

Myth of the SuperMom
If the advice from others wasn't overwhelming enough, today's mom struggles with her own super hero status as almost 75 percent feel the pressure to make every outing, playdate, or experience a "teachable moment." And it doesn't stop there: our household heroines also feel they need to be experts in the "traditional" skills such as nutrition (55 percent), or first aid and medicine (49 percent), along with the added expertise in technology (41 percent), social media (35 percent) and pop culture (25 percent).

Mom vs. Mom
Moms were fairly specific on what kind of mom they most wanted to be: 77 percent would rather be the "cool mom" than the "hot mom." Hot or cold, moms everywhere are hard workers on both sides of the classic debate: 83 percent of full-time working moms think they have it harder and 60 percent of stay-at-home moms believe their job is more difficult. While all moms want their daughters to thrive and be happy, most want their offspring to follow in their footsteps. Sixty-four percent of working moms prefer their daughters to be a working mom, and more than half (53 percent) of stay-at-home mothers would prefer their daughters also to be a stay-at-home mom.

Additional Ivory Mom Survey Highlights

• Smarter than a fifth grader? Mom may not agree as more than 60 percent of moms think figuring out their taxes is easier than middle school math homework.
• Forty-three percent of moms said having your kid known as the smelly kid is much worse than having your kid known as the potty mouth (20 percent), the whiner (17 percent) or the snob (13 percent).
• Modern moms may be overwhelmed with other moms giving them advice, but the truth is few actually know what theyre doing anyway. Seventy percent of moms feel that others think that they have everything together even when they don't.

As part of Ivory's modern day makeover, which began with the unveiling of our new packaging design and advertising campaign, we sought to tap into the everyday opinions and attitudes of todays busy mom, said Jay Sethi, Ivory brand manager. What we found was todays moms have an unyielding desire for honest, down-to-earth, simple yet social connections with other women and moms.

The Soap Dish
Inspired from the survey insights, Ivory recently launched The Soap Dish, a light-hearted social community that offers women an outlet to share in the everyday humor and honesty of their lives in an unapologetic manner. The community lives on the Ivory Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ivory) and is a place where today's modern mom can come and dish share opinions, ideas and maybe a little attitude on what it is that makes her life so complicated. As host of The Soap Dish, Melissa McCarthy invites Ivory fans and followers to join her in dishing about everyday topics ranging from motherhood, marriage and meatloaf to much more.

The complete survey questions and results will be shared throughout The Soap Dish community, where Ivory encourages women to laugh, live and share their everyday issues with others. To stay connected with Ivory, visit us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ivory) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ivory).

About Procter & Gamble (PG)
P&G touches and improves the lives of about 4.4 billion people around the world with its portfolio of trusted, quality brands. The Company's leadership brands include Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, and Ambi Pur®. With operations in about 80 countries, P&G brands are available in more than 180 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Wakefield Research
Wakeeld Research is a market research consultancy specializing in strategic and tactical research for corporate and political clients throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Wakefield staff drawn from the worlds of research, marketing and media serves as trusted advisors to heads of industry, marketing professionals and elected officials.

Methodological Notes
The Ivory Moms Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,017 American mothers with children ages 17 and under in the household, between October 14th and 20th, 2011, using an email invitation and an online survey. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

P&G Beauty & Grooming
Kristi Greenhall, 513-983-6723
greenhall.k@pg.com
or
Citizen Paine (for Ivory)
Tania Scheer-Weinkle, 949-809-6782
tania.weinkle@citizenrelations.com

Source: Procter & Gamble

Copyright Business Wire 2011