The archive · Brand & Identity · Marketing decision · 2018
Babyshop coins an Arabic word that puts 'mum' into 'parenthood'
On Mother's Day 2018, Babyshop launched Al Umobuwah — a new Arabic word for parenthood that names mothers and fathers equally.
Babyshop (Landmark Group)
What it had to solve
Babyshop, a children's retailer across the Middle East, wanted mothers to feel the brand celebrated them. Its agency FP7 McCann Dubai found the obstacle inside language: the Arabic word commonly used for 'parenthood' is built from the word for father, so a brand positioning that promised to celebrate parenthood was, in effect, celebrating fatherhood only.
How it works
Babyshop, a children's retailer owned by Landmark Group, had built its positioning around celebrating parenthood. FP7 McCann Dubai discovered a problem hidden in Arabic: the everyday word for 'parenthood' grows out of the root for 'father', so the brand's promise was effectively celebrating fathers — the opposite of what mothers heard from a baby-products retailer.
The response was a linguistic invention. FP7 worked with linguists and calligraphy artists to create 'Al Umobuwah', a new Arabic word that fuses the roots for father ('ab') and mother ('um'), meaning motherhood and fatherhood together. Visually it was rendered in elegant Arabic calligraphy, giving the neologism the weight of tradition.
Babyshop launched the word on Mother's Day 2018 with an online film, influencers spreading the term, print and outdoor work, a children's clothing line printed with 'Al Umobuwah', and a school programme that taught children the word and what it stands for — asking families to use it instead of the father-only term.
The campaign raised brand love among Arab mothers by 32% and went on to win the INNOVA Lotus and the Grande Lotus Roots at ADFEST 2019, plus the Grand Prix in Effective Channel Integration at the WARC Media Awards 2019, where the jury praised it for celebrating mothers while making the message inclusive of both parents.
Why it lands
- The barrier was linguistic, so the fix had to change language itself rather than simply air a message about mothers.
- A coined word is a shareable object: it spread more easily than an argument about equality would have.
- Launching on Mother's Day turned a critique of the language into a celebration, so the campaign read as a gift rather than a correction.
- The school programme and clothing line gave the word ongoing everyday use, letting it outlive the campaign window.
What it did
Brand love for Babyshop among Arab mothers grew 32%. The campaign took the INNOVA Lotus and the Grande Lotus Roots at ADFEST 2019 and the Grand Prix for Effective Channel Integration at the WARC Media Awards 2019.
What you can take
A brand purpose can be blocked by a blind spot in language itself: find the word that is missing, coin it, and let people adopt it — the result reads as a contribution to culture, not an ad.
Since then
Al Umobuwah became Babyshop's flagship purpose work and was widely cited as a case of brand language innovation. Beyond the ADFEST 2019 and WARC Media Awards wins, the word continued to appear in Babyshop's communications and children's ranges, and the campaign became a reference point for gender-inclusive branding in the Middle East.
Sources
- Babyshop创造新词汇Al Umobuwah，呼吁父母地位平等 (Babyshop coins Al Umobuwah for equal parenthood)
- WARC Media Awards 2019: winners announced for the Effective Channel Integration category
- Here Are All the Winners of ADFEST 2019
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