http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=318Quote:
Traditionally, brands looking to sell domestic items, such as breakfast cereal or carpet stain protection, focused on the undisputed purchasing chief of the household: Mom. But gender roles are changing—at least in some advertising campaigns, where dear ol’ Dad stars as domestic deity. The message is that today’s man appears to be more involved in his home life, reflecting a slow-but-steady rise in purchasing power.
“Until recently, fathers were largely an untapped market,” says Vincent DiCaro, spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative, a non-profit organization that bestows yearly awards to brands using positive depictions of fatherhood in their ad campaigns. “When it comes to household purchasing decisions, corporations seem to be realizing that men are a lot more involved than they were 20 years ago.”
There is extensive data that supports a little more gender balance in the domestic climate. A 2003 National Study of the Changing Workforce conducted by the Families and Work Institute shows that working fathers are not only playing a more active role in childcare, but are also more involved in general domestic activities, which include shopping.
The study shows that, although the amount of time that working mothers in dual-earner couples spend on workdays caring for children was basically the same in 2002 as it was in 1977, fathers in dual-earner couples with children are spending almost twice the amount of time caring for and engaged in activities with their kids.
Also, more men are assuming the role of primary caregiver to their children. A 2005 US Census Bureau reports that only 98,000 men with children under 15 years old are in charge of the homestead, however the real number might be closer to two million, if one includes part-timers and freelancers who continue to generate some income while taking care of the kids at home.
With respect to men and purchasing decisions specifically, a 2002 report from Mediamark Research, Inc., shows that men were the principal purchaser of items like groceries and children's clothing in 21 percent of all US households. This represents a rather large increase from 1985, where just 13 percent of men did most of the shopping.
Given this evidence, it was only a matter of time before stateside marketers woke up to the fact that the work-a-day, hands-off daddy who sits at the dinner table with his nose buried in a newspaper is being replaced with a softer, gentler, more interactive version of a father who takes pleasure in nurturing his kids.
Thus, it would seem perfectly natural that brands would begin to realign their marketing efforts, creating ad campaigns that appeal to the twenty-first century dad and his new found purchasing power.
In recent years, many US television ads have gotten great response by featuring warm and fuzzy depictions of fatherhood. Cheerios, a General Mills breakfast cereal brand popular among both health conscious adults and babies new to food, featured a subtle yet powerful spot with a handsome dad clutching his barely-year-old baby as they both gazed at a paper and shared some Cheerios. The spot had such an emotional impact on viewers, that the National Fatherhood Initiative granted the company one of its annual fatherhood awards.
“Cheerios is able to strike an emotional chord with consumers because it is something that has been part of their families for years,” explains Joe Ens, marketing manager for Cheerios. “Featuring a father in the ad was simply a reflection of an everyday moment that occurs between a parent and their child, [which] includes Cheerios. We try to depict true moments that celebrate the role of parents as the ultimate nurturers.”
In the same token, Ens credits the act of nurturing itself with the success of the campaign (not the gender of the nurturer). “We don't differentiate fathers and mothers as audience segments,” says Ens. “Rather, we focus our message on nurturers, which has included mothers, fathers, even grandparents.”
DiCaro believes that, by featuring a father in an active role in commercials, brands will not only appeal strongly to men, but to women as well. “There are few images more powerful to women than a man engaging with little children,” says DiCaro. “The best way to raise awareness among women is to make a father look good.”
Ens agrees that showing the tender side of a father is a great way to get to the mother. “I don’t necessarily feel that men are making more of the purchasing decisions these days,” explains Ens. “Featuring dads in our advertising is not a function of who is making purchase decisions, but rather a reflection of everyday moments in American households. Seeing a dad interact with his child is a mother's daily perspective, so it appeals to both women and men.”
Another intriguing ad campaign starring a dad and a baby was created for the US-based carpet protection brand, Stainmaster. The spot showed a father at his wits’ end doing anything and everything he could to quiet his baby. In the end, it is the comfortable carpet that succeeds at this task.
When asked if the ad was created to appeal to men over women, Gary Johnston, brand manager for Stainmaster, explains that the choice was made to attract equal-opportunity attention.
“One reason that we looked at depicting a dad in the ad is that we thought it would be more engaging for both genders,” explains Johnston. “We thought it would appeal both to men and women to see a dad taking responsibility and rising to the challenge of caring for a baby, because in reality, he usually does.”
This strategy hit the mark for Stainmaster. Johnston says the ad was very well received, and scored high marks in consumer recall.
“I think consumers are looking at their homes as sanctuaries,” says Johnston. “And investing in their homes is both a male and female concern. Men and women are certainly making more joint purchasing decisions than they were in the past.”
Although more recent studies confirming dad’s bulkier purchasing muscles are scarce, savvy marketers looking to score sales for their domestic products seem to know one thing for sure: the best way to a man’s (and woman’s) heart, is through his offspring.
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Anyway I do think it's an idea that bears scrutiny, and I'm curious Foamy to hear what you think the situation, if properly addressed in your eyes, would look like.
