Pampers’ Sleep is Everything campaign helps premature babies to rest in comfort

The Background

Sleep is everything.

Nothing teaches us as much as when we become parents.

Protecting a little life before it’s even born becomes our one and only reason for being.

For most of us it is also the first time we realise how fragile us humans are.

Before I had my son, who came into the world a month early, I had lost two babies in early pregnancy.

Seeing my new baby for the first time was an unforgettable mixture of utter joy, relief, abject fear and an absolute raging will to protect him from any harm.

The Big Idea

Having a baby born too soon only increases the sense of fragility and powerlessness a new parent can feel, and it is at this important time that Pampers comes in with its #PampersForPreemies nappies.

Oh my God how tiny are these things? They look like origami pants made for dolls. Except those ‘dolls’ are our real, precious babies, fighting to survive life from day one.

Premature babies sleep up to 97% of the time. And whilst sleep is important for every baby’s development, it is even more crucial for babies born prematurely as it is the foundation of their healthy physical and emotional development.

In partnership with Bliss, the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick, with this campaign Pampers is aiming to ensure that every premature baby in the UK gets access to its Pampers Preemie Protection nappies to support much needed sleep.

What They Did

In the ad we see incredibly fragile-looking, little babies in neonatal incubators having a good sleep thanks to those miniature nappies, barely the size of a palm, which offer a customised fit to support uninterrupted sleep.

A lullaby-like track plays in the background as the camera shows a selection of tiny babies wearing miniature clothes and nappies, who are yawning, stretching or sleeping with their little eyes and fists shut, connected to tubes and hospital machinery, with a parent nearby.

The ad ends with the strapline ‘sleep is everything’... which describes the product benefit and mirrors how that one little baby becomes absolutely everything and more to us helpless, terrified parents.

Since 2017, Pampers has donated hundreds of thousands of its Preemie Protection nappies to premature babies via UK hospitals, and with this campaign it wants to spread the word further and increase the number of nappies donated.

The Review

The ad certainly resonates with parents of premature babies, however nobody could watch this film and remain indifferent – those babies are all of us.

After being born too soon, my son quickly graduated to newborn nappies because despite being premature he was a good weight. 15 years and hundreds of Pampers later he is looking a lot less fragile, with his tall frame, deep voice and size 10 feet.

Many other premature babies are yet to make that long, eventful journey into childhood and adolescence, so this campaign raises awareness on their behalf.