London 2012 ad thanking moms will leave you misty-eyed

They say behind every great Olympic athlete there’s a mom. Or at least they will after watching a tear-jerker of a new commercial by Procter & Gamble designed to thank mothers of amateur athletes (while selling some fine P & G products).

The 2012 Olympics are still months away but already the Games have their first viral hit with this two-minute spot entitled “Best Job.” In the commercial, a montage of moms around the world are shown waking up sleepy kids, making them breakfast and bundling them off to early morning practices. A mother’s work is never done, of course, and moms are seen doing laundry, chauffeuring their little athletes around and watching as they train. But all the hard work pays off when it counts.

“Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. But it’s also the best,” states the blurb that accompanies the video posted on YouTube, where it has already received 1.2 million hits since it was posted last week.

Check out more Olympics coverage at the Star’s London 2012 headquarters.