Franjos Kitchen challenges motherhood stereotypes in bold ‘Lift Like A Mother’ campaign via Willow & Blake

Australian motherhood wellness brand Franjos Kitchen is challenging how mothers are typically portrayed in advertising with the launch of Lift Like a Mother, a bold new campaign via Willow & Blake.

The campaign marks a significant evolution for the brand, shifting away from soft-focus imagery and idealised representations often associated with maternal wellness marketing and towards a more honest depiction of the physical and emotional demands mothers navigate every day.

At the centre of the campaign is a simple but powerful idea: mothers may be some of the world’s most accomplished endurance athletes.

Says Kate Howard, Franjos Kitchen: “We didn’t start with a brief or a trend report. We started with a feeling. Every conversation we were having internally kept coming back to the same thing: mums are carrying an extraordinary load emotionally, physically and mentally every single day and society still doesn’t fully recognise it. We wanted to create something that felt less like an advertisement and more like a rallying cry.”

The insight emerged from the lived experiences of the Franjos Kitchen leadership team, who found themselves increasingly frustrated by the gap between the realities of motherhood and the way mothers continue to be portrayed in media and in every day society.

Says Howard: “For ten years, Franjos Kitchen has existed to support mothers. But somewhere along the way, the language around motherhood became softened. We talk about support, nourishment and wellness, which are all important, but we don’t talk enough about strength. We don’t talk enough about the sheer output required to be a mother.”

When briefing Willow & Blake, the direction was clear: avoid sentimentality and create something that reflected the resilience mothers demonstrate every day.

Says Howard: “When the agency asked whether we wanted soft and whimsical or bold and righteous, the answer was immediate. We wanted something that landed like a cheer squad. We wanted mothers to feel seen, understood and recognised for the incredible work they’re already doing.”

The resulting platform, Lift Like a Mother, reframes motherhood through the lens of physical and emotional endurance.

Research reviewed during campaign development highlighted the extraordinary demands placed on mothers in the early years of parenting. A mother of a newborn lifts her baby an average of 50 times a day, often while recovering from pregnancy and birth, operating on limited sleep and managing the mental load of an entire household.

By the time a child reaches two years old, that same child may weigh 12 to 14 kilograms.

Says Franjos Kitchen CEO and registered midwife Aliza Carr: “That’s progressive overload every single day. No rest days. No recovery blocks. No one standing on the sidelines cheering you on. Mothers continue showing up day after day because that’s what they do. They lift.”

Howard says the campaign’s hero line was born from a piece of wordplay that immediately resonated with the team: “The phrase stopped us in our tracks. On one level it’s a statement about strength. On another, everyone understands exactly what the asterisks imply. The toughness and tenderness of motherhood exist simultaneously, and somehow the line captures both.”

Carr says the platform also seeks to challenge the language historically used to diminish female strength: “For generations we’ve heard phrases like ‘throw like a girl’ or ‘fight like a girl’ used as criticism. ‘Lift Like a Mother’ says the opposite. The standard of physical and emotional performance mothers sustain every day would stop most people in their tracks.”

Visually, the campaign rejects traditional motherhood advertising conventions, opting instead for strong, direct imagery that portrays mothers as capable, resilient and unapologetically powerful.

The creative features mother and advocate Danielle Mitchell, whose own experiences navigating severe hyperemesis gravidarum, mental health challenges and traumatic birth recovery helped inform the campaign’s direction.

Says Carr: “We weren’t interested in showing mothers as fragile. These are women who are holding families together, often while carrying enormous physical and emotional loads themselves. We wanted the imagery to reflect that reality.”

The launch comes amid a broader shift across the advertising industry, as brands increasingly move toward more authentic representations of women and family life. However, Franjos Kitchen believes motherhood remains one of the last categories still heavily filtered through unrealistic expectations.

Says Howard: “We all have a mother, yet we still underestimate the work mothers do. Our hope is that women see this campaign and feel recognised. Not the polished version of themselves. The real version. The one who hasn’t slept properly. The one carrying everyone else’s needs before her own. The one who keeps showing up regardless.”

For Franjos Kitchen, the campaign represents more than a creative platform. It is a statement of intent for the next chapter of the brand.

Says Carr: “This isn’t really about products. It’s about recognition. It’s about creating a moment where mothers feel understood. Because what they’re doing every day is extraordinary.”

Lift Like a Mother launches nationally across digital, social, retail and content channels throughout June 2026.

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