Huggies Stays Classy with Dads in New Ads
Matt over at NYC Dads Group perfectly sums up my thoughts on dads and ads and the tired trope of the clueless dad who can’t even change a diaper — otherwise most recently known as the Great Huggies Debacle.
No, it’s not that dads who care about these things have a sense of humor — it’s that we’re just sick of seeing dads portrayed as bumbling nitwits who don’t know or care about childcare. (It reminds of that great Sarah Haskins piece from Current about single guys in ads who are hot and sexy and ready to shave or ride fast cars, and how they immediately turn into doughy doofsacks the moment they get married and multiply.)
Says Matt:
“It is not appealing to mothers or fathers to portray dads as buffoons. I’ll venture to say that most moms would love to have a caring, capable, and confident partner and would certainly like to see that be the standard fathers are being held to in life, and on TV.”
He goes on to link to a Huggies video starring the Koechner family — you may remember David’s turn as the amazingly awesome sportscaster Champ Kind in the movie, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – and how the diaper company has done a 180-degree turn from portraying dads as morons to portraying them exactly as they are: parents just getting it done on a random day.
Check out NYC Dads Group for the video.
Photo: NESN
Mike Adamick writes at Cry It Out!
Mike – thanks for the nice comments! I’m guessing, that the more we all keep banding together and moving the positive dad message forward…it might actually happen one day soon, or just wishful thinking.