Yes, Dads are Heroes Too
It’s an important new step in the fight for gender equality. In recent weeks, big companies launched advertising campaigns celebrating dads as “heroes.”
Among them is Dove Men+Care, a brand I partnered with. Its video for Father’s Day was covered everywhere from Forbes to Mashable and even The Weather Channel.
Meanwhile, Kleenex launched a “My Dad, My Hero” campaign. Macy’s had kids Transform Their Parents Into Superheroes. And The Ellen Show paid homage to dads who “save the day.”
This isn’t just a sentimental idea or a gift to fathers. It’s a crucial ingredient in advancing the American workplace for women. I explain this in my book All In: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families and Businesses — And How We Can Fix It Together.
This new positive “dadvertising” acknowledges the truth about modern fatherhood: That today’s dads are just as committed to their families as moms. It shatters dangerous suggestions that it’s somehow not masculine to be caring and loving.
It’s about Madison Avenue catching up with the rest of society, leaving the Mad Men ethos in the past. These days, 94% of men say it’s important to be a caring father, and seven out of ten men believe a hero is someone who puts others’ needs before his or her own, according to research from Dove Men+Care.
It also adds a nail to the coffin of the clueless, uncaring, buffoon dads who have long populated our TV screens. That stereotype has helped keep sexist laws, policies, and stigmas alive. Why offer paternity leave if a man is going to sit around and do nothing anyway? I discussed this at the beginning of my official Talk at Google.
But as I also explain and write in the book, praising fathers also comes with a risk.
It’s critical that dads not be called heroes for normal parenting that moms also do every day. Doing so marginalizes fathers, disdains mothers, and furthers backward stereotypes about both.
That’s why as I discuss these ad campaigns, I emphasize that dads are being celebrated just as moms are.
Teleflora announced it was making “mom our hero” for Mother’s Day. A P&G campaign was hailed for showing “why moms are the real Olympic heroes,” while JetBlue was hailed for making both moms and crying babies heroes.
And American Family Insurance celebrated moms as “nurse, student, hero.”
In All In, I write that today’s moms are like Elastigirl, and dads are like Stretch Armstrong, trying to do “it all.” It’s exhausting. (Read the opening for free here.)
Having ads that honor that is a good thing. And having ads that celebrate dads and moms equally is a game changer.
