Mother has set up a design and development venture to create and sell products centred on how people think about and behave around topical issues such as gun control and the obsession with technology.
Mother Goods is part of the agency's new philosophy "Make our children proud". The items that it will produce are intended to make an "impact in the world", Peter Ravailhe, chief executive of and partner at Mother USA, said.
Products to date include "kickback lounge wear", which is described as a line of bullet-resistant clothing "inspired by America's 100+ daily firearm fatalities".
There is also a phone case featuring a handcuff, called "Cüf", which the Mother Goods site sells to people who want to be more inseparable from their phone. It says: "People will spend an average of five years on social media in their lifetime. Which is sad—until now! Now you can be truly inseparable from your phone and beat society's weakass record."
Other goods raise awareness of poverty around buying nappies in the US, champion women's right to breastfeed in public and combat anti-LGBT+ laws in Russia.
The items can be viewed on mother-goods.com with some available for purchase. For others, the IP can be bought or rented. Profits will be donated to organisations tied to the social issues that the products address.
Paul Malmstrom, founding partner at Mother USA, said: "We're viewing Mother as a brand of sorts, and Mother Goods is one way of showing what we stand for and with what level of originality and fearlessness we express our own brand. I believe this is very attractive for the best creative thinkers out there, and in turn, the most interesting clients have always been interested in working with the most interesting thinkers.
"At the heart of Mother Goods is problem solving. We do it in the way we're good at – by finding really unique ways of addressing an issue. We believe, by expressing ourselves with boldness, we have a greater chance to create action and positive change. We're deliberately pushing the expressions as far as we can to learn about what is fantastic, and what is complete idiocy.
"I don't think it's super unusual in our industry to believe brilliant ideas can create positive change. However, I think it's unusual for a creative agency to invest, both our own brand and our own money, to put such beliefs into action. We do this globally, and as an ongoing, dedicated effort. Mother Goods is one of the ways those beliefs come to life."