Türkiye’s media watchdog has launched an investigation into a Mother’s Day advertisement by German home appliance giant Bosch after officials argued the campaign trivialized motherhood and undermined the traditional family concept.
The probe was announced by Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), following public criticism of the commercial, which was produced for Bosch’s Türkiye operations ahead of Mother’s Day.
The advertisement, set inside a Bosch store, features a conversation between two women discussing motherhood. In the final scene, it becomes apparent that the women are referring not to children, but to their pet animals, using expressions such as “I have two as well” and “they’re like children.”
RTÜK Chairman Mehmet Daniş said the regulator had initiated a formal review, arguing that while compassion toward animals is an important cultural and moral value, equating pet ownership with motherhood risked diminishing the social and emotional significance of the mother-child bond.
“Motherhood is not a metaphor, advertising language or a communication construct,” Daniş said, describing it as one of the strongest bonds that nurtures, protects and prepares future generations. He added that reducing such a concept for commercial purposes was “unacceptable.”
Daniş also linked the regulator’s stance to the Turkish constitution, which defines the family structure through the mother, father and child framework. He said RTÜK would not allow what he described as “value erosion” surrounding the family institution in broadcast content.
The controversy drew criticism from Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Türkiye’s Family and Social Services Minister, who said motherhood should not be reduced to a marketing narrative.
Göktaş stressed that motherhood — whether biological or through caregiving — represents a foundational social bond and a pillar of social continuity, adding that the concept should be treated with greater sensitivity.
The dispute comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has intensified emphasis on demographic policy, recently declaring a “Population and Family Decade” amid growing concerns over Türkiye’s declining birth rates and changing family structures.
Following mounting criticism, the advertisement was removed from the company’s social media platforms.
