Released just in time for Mother’s Day 2019 but being promoted all month long during May, British technology company Elvie’s new ‘A Mother and More’ campaign was designed to challenge the outdated depictions of motherhood. A portrait series shot by Brick Elbank highlights personal stories of 12 unique women beyond their role as mothers, showcasing some of the amazing things mothers are doing in their own right.
The women featured in the campaign represent a wide range of professions, hobbies and backgrounds including an engineer taking on a male-dominated industry, a breast cancer survivor and mentor for the transgender population, a single mom, a public defender helping the underprivileged navigate the criminal justice system, an entertainment reporter who has closely reported on the #MeToo movement, a former-Olympic skier, and more.
Eboni Wyllie is a registered nurse at the NYP Children’s Hospital of NYC, working in the paediatric intensive care unit. Growing up working with children at summer camps, it was then she decided she wanted to go into nursing as she wanted the opportunity to make a difference to children’s lives. She has just returned to work after having her first child Mackenzie, who is now 7 months old. Working night shifts and caring for her baby in the day has been, as she described, very double-duty but Eboni loves her job, and she couldn’t wait to get back to work. Eboni has just a year and a half left studying to become a nurse practitioner which is a long term goal of hers.
“My mother was an inspirational woman, a kind woman, who raised me on her own in later life so I have so much admiration for the strength of mothers,” said Brock Elbank. “I was really excited when Elvie approached me with this project because all my work is about diversity and every mother has a different and powerful story to tell.”
Brock Elbank is a portrait photographer known for his bold and distinctive approach. Following early success in fashion photography, Elbank has since moved from shooting professional models, to exploring everyday subjects, with a particular focus on the beauty of imperfection and diversity. He is most well known for his photo series #Project60, which showcases 60 unique beards and facial hair, in addition to campaigns such as #Freckles, #Vitiligo, and #HowDoYouCMeNow, which challenge stereotypes around skin “conditions” and celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of one’s skin.
Jasmine Katatikarn is a senior lighting artist & published author in the animation field who has worked on a number of feature films including Ice Age, Peanuts and Rio. In an industry that’s more than 80% male dominated it’s an incredibly interesting career to be in that combines both artistic and technical skills. Although now a mother of two, Jasmine struggled with her own fertility issues, given a less than 1% chance of having children, which spurred the launch of a social media channel following her personal journey. Now the channel has seen rapid growth, Jasmine wants to use it to empower women to be able to do whatever they want, and teach them not to be blocked by obstacles, using a designer mindset. Jasmine wants to
battle the stereotypes around working and becoming a new mom and feels that she is working harder now, than ever before, and with greater purpose. Jasmine’s goal for the future is to prove through her social voice you don’t have to make a decision between work and motherhood. You can do both very successfully by designing your own perfect imperfect life. Imperfect is perfect.
“Brock’s work is known for sparking meaningful conversations and challenging stereotypes, which made him the perfect partner to bring this campaign to life,” said Tania Boler, CEO, Elvie. “We want to change the idea that once a woman becomes a mother, it is the only thing that defines her. Being a mom is an important part of many women’s lives, but it’s not the only aspect, and especially around Mother’s Day, it’s important that we celebrate women on an individual level — their successes, their strength, and their passions, in motherhood and beyond.”
Founded in 2013, Elvie’s first product, Elvie Trainer, is an award-winning app-connected Kegel trainer that helps women strengthen the pelvic floor via fun, five-minute workouts. Most recently, the femtech company launched its second innovation, Elvie Pump, the world’s first silent wearable breast pump, making breast pumping as easy, streamlined and flexible as possible for moms.
Latham Thomas AKA Glow Maven is a celebrity wellness/lifestyle maven and birth doula- transforming not only how women give birth to their babies, but how they give rise to the best version of themselves. Named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100 – an enlightened group of leaders elevating humanity with their work – Latham is helping women embrace optimal wellness and spiritual growth as a pathway to owning their power. She is the founder of Mama Glow, a lifestyle brand and highly regarded website and women’s center in Brooklyn, NY, offering inspiration, education, and holistic services for expectant and new mothers. Mama Glow boasts a DOULA IMMERSION program that is globally recognized and attended by women from all corners of the USA and 6 continents. A graduate of Columbia University, Latham serves on the TUFTS University Nutrition Council as well as their board for Entrepreneurship. She is a two-time best-selling author. Latham’s highly anticipated second book, Own Your Glow: A Soulful Guide to Luminous Living and Crowning The Queen Within is currently in its 4th reprint. Latham is leading a revolution in radical self-care teaching women everywhere to “mother themselves first”. Along with these amazing achievements, Latham is mother to 15 year old son Fulano.
Furthering Elvie’s mission of breaking stereotypes and changing the conversation around motherhood, A Mother and More follows Elvie’s campaign for UK Mother’s Day, #FreetheFeed, where five giant inflatable breasts decorated London’s skyline in order to fight the stigma around breastfeeding and pumping in public. Elvie is also fresh off a $42 million Series B fundraise, which was the largest investment the femtech category has received to date.
It’s clear the company is hitting the right note with this campaign and the many ongoing conversations it is having around gender stereotypes. We have included some of the individual stories highlighted in the ‘A Mother and More’ portrait series within this article.
Joanne Booker is a pediatrician who is passionate about public health. She works in schools in the most disadvantaged areas of NYC that have some of the highest rates of childhood asthma and teenage pregnancy in the country. Many of the children and families that she helps live in shelters and cannot afford to maintain a functional phone number. As an advocate for health equity, Joanne firmly believes that your zip code shouldn’t determine your health outcome, and that every child should have an equal opportunity to succeed. As a first generation Latina who was born and brought up in NYC, Joanne identifies and connects with the families she works with. Joanne has studied for the last 12 years to become a paediatrician and recently returned to her job at the NYC Department of Health after 3 months of maternity leave for her first child.An actress, fitness trainer and doula, Rachel Lyons is a role model for every multi-passionate mother. With the support of her own mother, husband and supportive circle of friends and family she is able to commute between her home in New York City and Chicago, where she is performing in Hamlet. In fact, Rachel’s career is busier than ever since having Samuel Otis 18 months ago! When not acting, Rachel brings her infectious and fun attitude to her classes for MIRROR, as well as her work as a doula, empowering new moms. Rachel is proud to be in a PSA for Every Mother Counts about maternal health. Rachel is passionate about advocating for the maternal health of black women, which is often tragically neglected.
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