DIANE BELL
agent called Wells and suggested, “You ought to try out for it.”
While the stay-at-home mom has long harbored a secret dream of becoming an actress, “I have never acted before,” she admits.
But the commercial told the story of her life. It was about being tired, in pain, exhausted and frustrated when you can’t pump enough milk, especially for two babies.
Knowing her breasts would be exposed, before committing she decided to run it by her husband, William.
“At first, I thought real hard about it,” he told me. William empathized because he, too, has struggled with raising a 3-year-old son and infants, dealing with childcare, babies crying at night, loss of sleep, and more.
“It’s always been her dream to be behind the camera. It seemed like God’s gift to her,” he said. So he gave the acting offer his blessing.
After seeing the end result, he concluded there was nothing titillating about the portrayal. “They didn’t sexualize breasts in the commercial,” says William.
Nevertheless, the commercial is not the normal fare. It pushes the boundaries of what the public is used to seeing and may be comfortable with watching on TV.
A year ago, a different 60-second commercial by Frida Mom on postpartum life and recovery was rejected by the Academy Awards show and ABC TV as being too graphic, Frida Mom related to TODAY Parents.
That rejection unleashed some criticism from irate moms who felt a lack of empathy and support for experiences they commonly go through.
Judging from the reaction on social media after the Golden Globes broadcast, Frida’s ad was well received, with many women applauding the realism of the portrayal and saying it was about time.
Infants Arya and Wynter are too young to voice their opinions. But they already have moved on to other film projects. The twins were recently hired to trade off portraying the newborn baby of Judge Lola Carmichael (played by
on the CBS TV series “All Rise.”