Peanut and Tommee Tippee push ‘matrescence’ into the mainstream

A full-page ad in The New York Times is putting one overlooked word centre stage, as Peanut and Tommee Tippee campaign to get “matrescence” officially recognised in the dictionary.

Describing the physical, psychological and emotional transition into motherhood, matrescence captures an identity shift comparable in scale to adolescence.

Coined in 1973 by anthropologist Dana Raphael and more recently championed by writers and campaigners, the term remains absent from major dictionaries despite growing cultural relevance.

Running under the line “IDGAF is in the dictionary. Matresence isn’t,” the print execution directs readers via QR code to sign a petition.

The aim is to demonstrate the frequency lexicographers require for inclusion, with submissions planned for various dictionaries and engagement with Apple, Google and Microsoft to update autocorrect functions.

Peanut president Michelle Battersby frames the move as cultural as much as linguistic. While adolescence is widely understood and socially supported, she argues that mothers undergoing an equally profound transition are rarely afforded the same grace. Naming the experience, she says, helps women feel “seen and understood”.

The campaign builds on a five-year partnership between the brands and will extend beyond print into influencer collaborations, educational content featuring neuroscientists and mock out-of-home across social channels.

Success will be measured not only in petition signatures, but in reach, reshares and social virality. The ambition is clear: to spark both recognition and revelation around a word that has existed for over 50 years, yet remains largely invisible.

👀 PSSST… Have you got your ticket to the most exciting brand event of the year?

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