Postpone Mother's Day Dear Mr. President,

As the first ad agency born in the new democratic South Africa back in May 1994, we have always believed in leveraging the power of ideas to make a difference to society, which is why we at Net#work BBDO on the cusp of our #26 anniversary as a small business are trying our best to quietly unlock some creativity for good during lockdown.

In our own little way we’ve so far managed to help 1 million people gain access to free WiFi when they most need it through our partnership with Google + Think WiFi plus 54,000 masks will be delivered to hospitals this week via the Shout4Masks initiative we designed for our partners at SHOUT SA.

Sure it’s only a drop in the vast ocean of need out there, yet thankfully with so many South Africans rising up to create so many amazing initiatives it all begins to add up to facing challenge after challenge in our beautiful country.

We would now like to reach out to you during these uncertain times. Not only have your decisions helped in flattening the curve, but they have brought us together as a country and a people, when at times we felt isolated and alone.

But here’s the thing… In these strange times some of us don’t have the luxury of seeing our loved ones when we sometimes need them most. And with a certain special day coming up soon, there’s one essential that all South Africans may not get to enjoy.

Our mothers.

As you know, Mother’s Day comes only once a year, on 10 May. Right in the middle of our lockdown. We’re not asking you to lift the rules for a day. Nor are we asking for special exemptions. Instead, we at Net#work would like to offer up our Thuma Mina… an exciting idea for you to get behind that we believe could make a real difference to all South Africans.

Postpone Mother’s Day.

Help us push it further down the calendar this year so that we can all be there for our mothers the same way they have always been there for us. If lockdown has taught us anything, it has given us a new perspective of the things we have and those we don’t. If this special day is moved to later in the year, we’ll all get the chance to treat our mothers like the queens they are. After all, where would we be today without our mothers? Where would you be, Mister President?

CAPRO press release, 3 May 2020