April 25, 2012

What Happened to Dad?

Was there some sort of apocalyptic event that wiped out all the dads from the planet?

It sure seems that way, at least in the eyes of Proctor and Gamble.  To promote themselves for this years upcoming Summer Olympics, it seems their latest tear jerker of a commercial has omitted one thing, dad.  What happened to him we will never know, but one thing is for certain, he is nowhere to be found in this commercial.



I'm not one to normally get bent out of shape over a stupid commercial.  I get it, moms do most of the shopping so companies target them.  They would be stupid not to.  But to run something like this is just wrong.  Don't most kids have TWO parents?

Where the hell is dad?  

Did he go to work, did he die, is he sleeping, is he in his recliner chugging beers while watching sports on TV?  We know one thing while watching this ad, he is not taking his kid to a practice or watching them compete.  That is moms job.

Dad won't be there to wipe away their tears after a tough loss or swoop them over his head after an incredible win.  Mom can handle it, just like she can the cooking, cleaning and whatever else she does around the house to make the family go.

In my family, that's me.  A dad of all people.  I'm shuttling the kids to various activities and coaching them in baseball this spring.  I guess to Proctor and Gamble that doesn't matter.  To the two little ones I do it for, I'm sure it means everything in the world to them.

Don't get me wrong, we all want to thank mom for the amazing job that she does, it really is thankless at times.  While it would be nice to see at least the hint of a dad in this ad, I am not going to plead to the higher ups at Proctor and Gamble to get that done.  As a dad myself I know how important we are in our kids lives.  If I want to see the power of what a dad can do to help his Olympian kid out, I will just watch this:



Thank you mom AND dad.

See? We can be there too when our kids need us the most.


John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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30 comments:

  1. I agree 100%  Being a dad who knows I dont do nearly .00000002% as much as my wife does I do know that there are dads that do all of the work if not most of it.  Why cant they make a commercial that has moms and dads. I bet that if they had a commercial that had nothing but dads moms wouldnt like it either.  but whatever. I will get my video out and make my own commercial.  I appreciate your blog post

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  2. Now they need to come out for one with Dads. You guys dont get enough credit. Heck, in a lot of shows the Mom is overworked and the Dad sits around and burps, gets bossed around and sits in his chair. It just doesnt sit well with me. Being a good parent is a hard and sometimes thankless job. It doesnt matter if its Mom or Dad.

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  3. It would be nice, but I won't hold my breath

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  4. Damn, that video of the father made me cry!  But sincerely, I hear ya.  What about honoring the dads?  I'm thinking that it was geared towards moms for both marketing purposes and the nearing holiday...Mother's Day...at least that's what I derived.  Maybe P&G will make a dad commercial as Father's Day approaches!  I will keep on the lookout for it! :)  Thanks for being an awesome dad!

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  5. I cried too at the dad video... it's powerful.  P&G has been running these spots since last Olympics so I won't get my hopes up.  Thanks for the kind words.

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  6. P&G is usually on their A game when it comes to gender in advertising.  My hope is that this is in time for Mother's Day and we get one around Father's Day.  Fingers crossed.

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  7. I'm right there with you. I'm not overshadowing what Mom's do, but it would be nice for that to be a "parenting" commercial at least, not just a "Mom" commercial. I'm hoping Matt's right and that's a Mother's Day related commercial with a Father's Day version to follow.

    Did anyone else notice that a majority of the kids shown in that video were also female?

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  8. I'm guessing it's for Mother's Day.

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  9. What's funny is that Proctor & Gamble is the parent company of Tide, who had the mixed-review "Dad Mom" commercial last December. Also - P&G owns 
    http://manofthehouse.com...so it's funny that on one hand, they're quite aware of men and fathers. On the other hand, they can still put out a commercial like this and expect no one to mention it.

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  10. I do commend them on that website.  But that isn't really something that is as mainstream as these ads.  It's as if they want to say, "we know dad exists on some level, but just not quite at the same level as mom" I thought we were trying to get rid of the idea that mom is the only parent?  This kind of sets that thought back a little, no?

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  11. Nope... http://news.pg.com/blog/thank-you-mom/procter-gamble-launches-global-thank-you-mom-campaign

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  12. Oh, I totally agree with you. I think it's funny that they are THAT aware of men and fathers, but still were able to put out a father-absent commercial, thinking the fatherhood industry would pass it up!

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  13. We're an industry now?! Awesome!

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  14. Heh, we are! There's blogs, there are non-profits, there are targeted ads...that makes us legit!

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  15. Not surprised at all. After looking through Parents Magazine today, as well as a few articles in Working Mother and Parenting, I began to even doubt my own existence due to the lack of any Dads at all. While I read, I watched as my hand began to fade away, like when Marty McFly started to not exist in Back To The Future.

    Maybe the Mompocalypse has begun, and mothers from the fatherless future that have been sent back in time to eradicate fathers have set their evil plan in motion. Anyway, there's a knock at the door... better go ge

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  16. I've got to admit that I totally blew it with this commercial.  Someone sent it to me ages ago & I was so busy enjoying the pro-mom boost that I totally overlooked the "dad doesn't matter" slant. 

    The minimalization of dads is so prevalent today. It permeates every level and type of media. I'm a bit ashamed of myself for missing it this time. 

    I usually go out of my way to error on the other side.  I try to give dads and their value a boost every chance I get no matter what I'm working on because you dads and your value take so many hits, and because you dads are so important, as are we moms, in the lives of our children. 

    I assume P&G will have a similar pro-dads Fathers' Day ad (but, if so, no one has sent it to me yet!). But, as you and many of your readers pointed out, it would make so much more sense to represent both parents. 

    It's a shame that our society seems to have forgotten that you don't need to put down or marginalize one group to show the value of another. It's even more of a shame that the value of two parents working together to raise their children is all but completely devalued in our media. 

    Thanks for the heads up. Great post. 

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  17. I like both of the ads. And both made me cry because ALL parents matter. I don't think every commercial has to be the same. Incidentally, there is no mom in the second ad, but I'm not offended. There are many groups of people that are under-represented. One commercial where the dad isn't the focus is not the end of the world. There are women that actually that still  think moms arent appreciated.  What about all of the commercials for the last 50 years that only portray the father as the person that "works" and the mother as the cookie baker? One commercial does not convince me that P&G meant any harm and I thought this one was stunning. If they continue to run ads without dads, then I might wonder. 

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  18. That ad was beautifully done, that being said this is an entire campaign and not just one ad.  I totally get why they target women, I am not looking for an ad where the dad is the focus.  I would just like to see them show the sacrifice that ALL parents make, not just mom. The second video wasn't an ad, it was just a story about a guy in the Olympics

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  19. Sorry, JW. I did realize after I commented that the second one wasnt an ad. Nevertheless, both stunning to me. 

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  20. Absolutely... you are forgiven

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  21. I type this with tears in my eyes, John.  I've been a closet fan of your blog for months now, it is fantastic.  I am a Stay-at-home-Dad to twin seven year-olds since they were six weeks old and sometimes I shake my head in shame at the way Dads are presented in the media.  Thanks for calling P&G out on this. 

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  22. I think it is unhealthy to exclude dads.  Go ahead and honor moms but dads shouldn't be excluded.

    On the other hand, my dad was NEVER there for me.  That's why I'm working so hard to be the dad I wished I had.

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  23. Melissa_FillingOurBucketApril 26, 2012 at 12:27 PM

    I will NEVER forget that moment with Derek Redmond and his dad. I am pretty sure I watched every second of Barcelona that summer, and completely remember seeing that. It was pretty amazing.

    That said I loved the P&G commercial, but I totally see where you are coming from and agree with you. I love that there is more advertising showcasing Dads as being awesome and there for their kids, but there needs to be more. I understand your point.

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  24. I like the ad too. I just wish that companies would target to parents.  I don't think a mom would see an ad with a dad in it and not buy that product. 

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  25. Good for you James! 

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  26. Dads will never be mom, I understand that.  But we can certainly be an equal parent.  It takes strong dads to show that we are not idiots and it sounds like you are one of them.  Thanks for speaking up!

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  27. It's funny that P & G owns Man of the House but fails to recognize dads in commercials.  Interesting....

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  28. It's almost as if they are throwing us a bone with that so they can plead that they are pro dad. then they show this.

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  29. I agree, most do have two parents & OMG if my kids didnt see DAD, they would cry all night! It would be nice to see a commercial with Dad in it too.  nice write up.

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  30. Pft. Your experiences fall outside traditional gender norms, so therefore cannot be used to produce a sappy feel-good designed to pluck at the heart strings. It's not about good parenting, it's about lazy stereotypes that can be trotted out to sell more stuff.

    Cynical much?

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