It’s Father’s Day, which has not escaped the notice of brands.
But instead of tired clichés with dads owning the barbecue or hiding in their “man cave,” this year’s common theme is surprises and sentimentalism.
Here’s how they’re doing that:
Zappos
The online retailer surprised a father of four (and “loyal Zappos customer”) with a day off. They actually sent him a giant box filled with employees to complete his to-do list that included washing the car, mowing the law and other mundane tasks. The act of kindness was caught on camera in a commercial called “Dad’s Day Off.”
Dove
The company’s men care line combed the Internet for home videos of guys being told they’re about to become fathers and stitched together a minute long ad. A spokesperson for Dove Men+Care told Mashable that the ad’s premise is “rooted in company research that showed the vast majority (82 percent) of men see fatherhood as an emotionally transformative experience,” which the ad aims to tap into.
Uber
Earlier this month, Uber released its first sappy television ad that shows a happy, utopian Uber-filled world. Well, for Father’s Day, it released a shorter version of it solely focusing on the father in it. Uber tweeted it out, but it didn’t take long before someone had complained.
Saving the best pickup for last. https://t.co/iE0LcyEZsm
— Uber (@Uber) June 20, 2015
Google
It wouldn’t be a proper holiday without a Google doodle. Adorned on its homepage across the world, the animation celebrates the “universality of familial love.” We’ll give them this one, it’s pretty cute.
Charmin
Everybody poops — even dads (especially dads?). That message comes through loud and clear in an amusing video that the toilet paper company tweeted out personifying common pooping euphemisms (such as, dropping kids off at the pool) in this cringe-worthy ad. It’s par for the course of them, but it’s not something we’d like to think of on dad’s special day.
To all the Dads doing your morning routine, we wish you a #HappyFathersDay https://t.co/p3NNXnM2Hg — Charmin (@Charmin) June 21, 2015
More in Marketing
Hyve Group buys the Possible conference, and will add a meeting element to it in the future
Hyve Group, which owns such events as ShopTalk and FinTech Meetup, has agreed to purchase Beyond Ordinary Events, the organizing body behind Possible.
Agencies and marketers point to TikTok in the running to win ‘first real social Olympics’
The video platform is a crucial part of paid social plans this summer, say advertisers and agency execs.
Where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on big tech issues
The next U.S. president is going to have a tough job of reining in social media companies’ dominance and power enough to satisfy lawmakers and users, while still encouraging free speech, privacy and innovation.