By Dave Andrusko
We have three daughters, one daughter in law, one son and two sons-in-law and have been blessed with five grandchildren. Even though our youngest grandson hasn’t yet graduated from diapers, I don’t often see commercials for Pampers or Huggies or Luvs these days, or, if I do, they don’t register.
But I know, from having written about many of Pampers’ commercials in the past, they are often nothing short of awesome. They affirm not only the importance of babies, but they also remind parents that “Every baby is a little miracle to celebrate, support and protect.” Not just “wanted” babies or “perfect” babies, but all babies.
And since these commercials very often begin with sonograms, pro-lifers see this sentiment as apropos not just for babies once they are born, but from the first legs of the baby’s developmental journey.
If you watch “For every little miracle”, I promise you will (as did I) forward the link to many of your family and friends.
The overarching point they make is…circumstances do not matter. Whatever those circumstances may be—and the ad doesn’t pretend all circumstances are a bed of roses—babies are a gift, a treasure, to honor and protect and (my words here) to marvel at.
The very first “whether” in “For every little miracle” is the most important: “whether he’s planned… or not…”
We first see a headshot of a young woman in her wedding dress–and then the rest of this woman’s very pregnant profile.
That is cutting to the chase. We too often forget that babies don’t choose the circumstances of his or her conception. That’s on us.
Moreover, without being preachy or overt, the ad (I believe) is telling us in no uncertain terms that there is only one choice—to choose to “celebrate, support and protect” this “little miracle.”
There are many other “whethers,” including …whether the baby has “special needs” or has “lots of needs” [comes as a package deal with multiple siblings]…or adopted…or comes “3 months early” [a preemie] “or ten years late “[an older mom]…or is biracial/multicultural…or “whether his family is close by´or far away.”
In all these circumstances—the planned and the perfect, or the unplanned and the other-than-perfect—this baby is one of us, a miracle to whom we have the strongest obligation on the face of the planet: to protect and nurture our own flesh and blood.
The ad is just one minute and two seconds long. Please take the time to watch “For every little miracle” [www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gZRRQgusXU].