November 2, 2026

How Dad Getting Left Out in Marketing Affects Mom – and How She Can Fix It

Dad being left out is often a product of marketing and media exclusion. But that omission affects other parts of life, including life in the home.

Think about it.

Mom takes the kids somewhere fun while dad is at work. She buys Christmas presents. She signs the kids up for activities. She makes a major purchase. She plans the weekend. She decides what the family is going to do.

One decision at a time, none of it may seem like a big deal. But when it becomes a pattern, dad can start to feel less like an active participant in his family’s life and more like someone who comes home to find out what happened while he was gone.

And here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: Sometimes dad is missing these moments because he’s doing exactly what his family needs him to do – working. He’s providing. He’s putting in the hours. He’s doing his part.

Yet the very work that helps support his family can also mean he’s not there when family memories are being made and family decisions are being made. That’s unfortunate – and avoidable.

That doesn’t mean mom is doing something wrong every time she takes the kids somewhere without him. She shouldn’t have to wait for dad to get home before doing anything. But there is a difference between doing things while dad is at work and routinely making dad an afterthought. And that difference matters.

When Dad Misses the Moments

Providing financially is an important part of taking care of a family, but it can come with an unintended cost: Dad may miss the spontaneous experiences that mom and the kids share while he’s at work. He’s happy they had a good time. But he might also wish he had been there.

The solution isn’t for mom to stop doing things with the kids. It’s not realistic for every family activity to require both parents. The solution may simply be including dad in the conversation more often.

Wives, Talk to Your Husband

There is an important distinction here. Not every decision in a family requires a meeting. But making significant decisions in secret or routinely making family plans without your husband’s knowledge or input is different.

Marriage is a partnership. And when one spouse repeatedly makes decisions that affect the family without including the other, it can create distance, even when the intentions are good.

Sometimes the decision itself isn’t what hurts. It’s the feeling that, “You didn’t think I needed to be part of this.” And that’s worth taking seriously.

Sometimes Dad Just Needs to Be Included

Before making a major purchase, ask what he thinks. Before buying all of the Christmas presents, ask if there’s something he’d especially like to choose for the kids. When planning a special outing, occasionally ask, “Is this something dad would really want to do with them?” And when something can reasonably wait, sometimes it might be worth waiting.

Not every family memory needs to be shared. But some of them could be. That doesn’t mean mom can’t take the kids somewhere fun while dad is working. Of course she can. It simply means remembering that dad may want to experience some of those things, too.

Dads Have a Role in This, Too

Dads can help, too. If something matters to them, they need to say so. If they want more time with the kids, they need to make that time a priority when they can.

Working hard for the family shouldn’t mean quietly expecting everyone else to wait around for them. It may take some planning. Maybe dad protects one evening a week for family time. Maybe he tells mom that he really wants to be the one to take the kids to their next big outing. Maybe he makes sure he’s home for the moments that matter most. Constant communication is key to ensure neither parent gradually becomes a spectator in the family life they’re both building.

The Bigger Picture for Fathers

We talk a lot about dads being overlooked in advertising and media. But the way society thinks about fathers can also influence the way families think about fathers.

If dad is assumed to be the provider who works while mom manages the children and the details of family life, it’s easy for everyone – including dad – to accept that arrangement without realizing what may be getting lost.

Fatherhood isn’t just about providing for a family. It’s also about being part of the life for which dads are providing. And sometimes, making room for dad doesn’t require a dramatic change.

It just requires someone to say: “Dad would love to be part of this. Let’s make sure he gets the chance.”

October 1, 2026

Marketers: Meet the Halloween Dad

There is a particular kind of father who emerges every October.

He starts with a few decorations on the front porch. Then comes another inflatable. Maybe some lights. A fog machine. A skeleton. Before long, the neighbors are wondering whether this is still a house or the set of a low-budget horror movie. And for costumes — dad knows how to take those to the next level.

Welcome to the rise of the Halloween Dad. For marketers, he’s an overlooked consumer hiding in plain sight.

Halloween has become a remarkably large business. The National Retail Federation estimated that Americans would spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween in 2025, with spending spread across costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards. Nearly half of consumers began shopping by September.

But the interesting story isn’t simply how much people spend. It’s what they’re buying, and why.

When Dad Gets Creative

Unlike some household purchases, Halloween often gives fathers an opportunity to participate in the experience itself. A dad may not care much about the color of the kitchen towels. He may have strong opinions about the family’s Halloween decorations.

He may research the best outdoor projector. Compare animatronic skeletons. Build a homemade coffin. Figure out how to synchronize lights to music. Or spend an unreasonable amount of time trying to make a fog machine work properly. And his kids may be right there with him.

That’s part of what makes Halloween different from many other shopping occasions. The purchase can become an activity. The decoration isn’t simply something dad bought. It’s something he helped create. The costume isn’t simply an expense. It’s part of a tradition. The candy isn’t just candy. It’s preparation for the annual invasion of the neighborhood.

For brands, those distinctions matter.

Selling the Experience

The best Halloween marketing doesn’t necessarily sell a product as much as it sells the experience surrounding it. That’s particularly relevant to fathers.

A hardware retailer can sell a dad the materials for a decoration project. A home improvement brand can sell him the tools to build it. A retailer can sell the lights, props and decorations. A food brand can sell the snacks for the neighborhood party.

But the emotional appeal is somewhere beyond the product. It’s the reaction when the kids see the finished display. It’s the neighbors stopping to take pictures. It’s the family tradition that gets repeated every year.

That’s a different kind of consumer motivation, and one marketers can easily miss if they see Halloween simply as another retail holiday that appeal to only one parent.

The Opportunity for Brands

There is a lesson here that extends beyond Halloween.

Consumers don’t always divide their lives into the neat categories marketers create for them. A father can be a homeowner, a shopper, a parent, a hobbyist and an entertainer at the same time. Halloween happens to bring many of those roles together.

And it gives brands an opportunity to meet dad somewhere he may genuinely enjoy being: in the middle of the action.

So this October, marketers might want to look beyond the familiar images of children in costumes and parents handing out candy.

Look for the guy on the ladder. The one untangling the lights. The one standing in the driveway trying to assemble an eight-foot skeleton. There’s a good chance he’s not just decorating the house.

He’s building a memory.

And, quite possibly, buying something along the way.

September 1, 2026

Fall Is Here. Is Dad in Your Marketing?

September marks a significant change in the American consumer calendar. For brands, it’s one of the busiest stretches of the year.

It’s also a good time to consider whether dad is getting the attention he deserves.

Fathers are involved in everyday decisions that shape household spending, from groceries and children’s activities to education, technology, travel and financial products.

Yet marketing still sometimes relies on a familiar division of roles: mom manages the household and the children, while dad appears only when the subject turns to cars, tools, sports, or grilling.

Reality is considerably more complicated.

A 2026 survey of fathers found that 92% said they influence household purchases, with 37% identifying as the primary decision-maker and another 55% saying they make decisions jointly with their partner. Fathers reported involvement in decisions involving education, healthcare, nutrition, children’s entertainment and financial planning.

The numbers suggest something marketers may want to keep in mind as the fall season begins: dad isn’t a niche consumer. He is the audience brands are already trying to reach.

Football Is More Than a Dad Stereotype

Football may be the most obvious example. Every new football season ushers in another fall of weekend games, fantasy leagues, tailgates, watch parties and conversations about teams and players. Football has long been one of the easiest cultural shortcuts for marketing to men. Put a dad in a recliner, add a television, a plate of wings and a jersey, and the scene is immediately recognizable.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that image. Plenty of dads will spend part of the fall exactly that way. But it represents only one small part of what being a dad looks like.

The same father watching Sunday football may also be the father coaching his daughter’s soccer team Saturday morning. He may be the one buying the groceries for a gameday gathering, helping a son with homework, taking the kids to practice or planning the family’s weekend.

That’s where the opportunity gets more interesting for marketers. Rather than asking, “What do dads buy?” perhaps the better question is, “What role does dad play in the decisions we’re already marketing around?”

And for a master class in how to market to both genders, look no further than the NFL.

Fall is a Family Season

This matters because so much of fall marketing is really family marketing.

Football. Halloween. Fall clothing. Home improvement. Outdoor activities. Streaming. Travel. Food. Youth sports. And, before long, holiday shopping. These aren’t isolated categories with neatly divided male and female consumers. They’re parts of family life, and fathers are absolutely involved in the decisions surrounding them.

That doesn’t mean every campaign needs to feature a dad. Nor does it mean marketers should force fathers into advertisements simply to check a demographic box. It means brands should be careful about assuming that the mother is the default consumer whenever a product or service involves children or the household.

The goal isn’t to replace one stereotype with another. It’s to make the picture more accurate.

The Dad Behind the Purchase

One reason this can be easy to miss is that fathers don’t always announce themselves as consumers. That’s because most fathers don’t want the spotlight. They tend to put their spouses and kids first, thus remaining in the background.

A dad may be researching the family vehicle without being the person who ultimately walks into the dealership. He may compare youth sports equipment online before discussing it with his spouse. He may research a new television, plan a family vacation or decide which streaming service makes sense for the household.

In many cases, the purchasing decision is shared. That matters because marketing has historically been very interested in identifying a single “decision-maker.” But families don’t always work that way. The purchase may belong to the household, while the research, recommendation, comparison, or final decision is divided between two parents.

The Modern Dad Doesn’t Need a Special Campaign

There is also a danger in overcorrecting. Marketing to dads doesn’t necessarily mean creating a “dad campaign.” In fact, the most effective approach may be to stop treating fathers as a niche audience in the first place. A father doesn’t necessarily want advertising that announces, “Hey, dad, this one’s for you!” He may simply want to see himself represented naturally in the life the brand is depicting.

That could mean a father packing lunches. A dad shopping for school clothes. A father taking his kids to practice. A dad making dinner. A father comparing insurance options. A dad decorating the house for Halloween.

And yes, sometimes it can mean a dad sitting down to watch football. The point isn’t that one image is wrong. It’s that one image isn’t enough.

A More Complete Picture

The advertising industry has become increasingly attentive to the ways it portrays women and mothers. That has helped broaden the picture of family life presented in advertising.

Fathers are part of that picture, too.

The traditional image of dad as breadwinner, disciplinarian and weekend recreational companion hasn’t disappeared. It simply doesn’t describe every father, or necessarily the majority of what fathers contribute to family life.

For marketers, September offers a useful reminder.

As the country moves into football season, fall activities and eventually the holiday shopping season, there will be countless opportunities to show families as they actually live. That doesn’t require making dad the star of every advertisement. It may simply require remembering that he’s in the picture. He’s watching the game. He’s also doing a lot of other things.

Marketing should probably notice.

August 3, 2026

Brands Are Missing Half Their Audience This Back-to-School Season

Every August, marketers spend billions trying to convince parents to buy backpacks, lunchboxes, sneakers, laptops, and far too many glue sticks.

Yet many back-to-school campaigns still rely on a familiar script: Mom has the shopping list. Mom packs the lunch. Mom drops the kids off. Dad? He’s often nowhere to be found, or he’s the comic relief who can’t figure out which notebook to buy.

The reality is very different.

The National Retail Federation expects families with K-12 students to spend a record $43.3 billion on back-to-school purchases this year, with the average family spending nearly $864 on clothing, electronics, shoes, and school supplies. That’s a massive opportunity for retailers, but also a massive opportunity they’re only partially addressing.

Today’s fathers aren’t occasional assistants. They’re active shoppers, lunch packers, homework helpers, carpool drivers, and school volunteers. Research over the past several decades shows fathers are spending significantly more time raising their children than previous generations, and that trend continues to grow. Parenting has become a shared responsibility in households, yet much of the marketing hasn’t caught up.

Families are also shopping differently than ever before. Nearly two-thirds of parents had already started shopping by early July, more than half planned purchases around major summer sales, and almost half are delaying some purchases while waiting for better deals. Price—not tradition—is driving decisions.

So why are so many brands still talking almost exclusively to moms?

This isn’t about replacing moms in advertising. It’s about reflecting reality. When dads see themselves authentically represented, such as comparing backpacks, packing lunches before work, checking supply lists on their phones, or helping pick out the first-day outfit, they’re more likely to feel that a brand understands their family.

The best marketing doesn’t reinforce yesterday’s stereotypes. It mirrors today’s lives.

This back-to-school season, brands have a choice. They can keep producing the same commercials they’ve been making for decades, or they can recognize what millions of families already know: Dad isn’t “helping” with back-to-school.

He’s parenting.

July 1, 2026

How Bass Pro Shops Got Father’s Day Advertising Right

It’s hard to find a positive Father’s Day ad anymore, or at least one that doesn’t lean on the same recycled tropes like dad jokes, dad bods, or the predictable ties, socks and grill-giving clichés. That’s what makes this Bass Pro Shops message so refreshing: it skips the stereotype entirely and instead treats fatherhood with sincerity, memory and respect.

Here’s what makes it so effective.

Nostalgic Visual Storytelling

The left-side layout uses a Polaroid-style collage that immediately signals memory and authenticity. It feels like something pulled from a family album rather than a commercial ad.

Each image represents a different outdoor tradition—fishing, camping/cooking and hunting—broadening the emotional reach so different kinds of dads (and families) can see themselves in it. And, it’s nice to see diversity in its message.

The handwritten “THANKS DAD!” note reinforces the personal tone, as if it came directly from a child. That small detail adds warmth and sincerity that polished design alone wouldn’t achieve.

Texture and Atmosphere

The dark wood background quietly does a lot of heavy lifting. It instantly communicates “outdoors,” “cabin,” and “tradition” without needing explanation.

Instead of feeling like a digital ad, it feels grounded and physical, like it belongs in the same world as the experiences it’s referencing. That alignment between texture and theme strengthens the emotional pull.

Copywriting That Centers Emotion, Not Product

There’s no mention of gear, pricing, or offers. Instead, the message focuses on legacy and gratitude toward fathers who introduced people to the outdoors.

The framing, which celebrates dads who taught “early mornings on the water” and similar experiences, activates shared memory. It’s not selling an item; it’s reminding people of a relationship and a set of formative moments.

That shift is important: the dad becomes the hero, not the brand.

Soft-Sell Positioning

There are no hard calls to action, no promotions, and no product highlights. Even the brand signature is deliberately casual: “From your friends at Bass Pro Shops.”

This positions the company less like a retailer and more like a fellow participant in the outdoor lifestyle, and perhaps, parenting. The message is: we belong to the same world you do.

That matters psychologically. When a brand successfully aligns with values like family, tradition and nature, it earns long-term affinity. So when someone eventually does need gear, the brand is already top of mind—not because it pushed, but because it connected.

Why It Works

This Bass Pro message works because it prioritizes connection over conversion. The ad makes people feel something first, and lets the purchase idea come later on its own. Moreover, it doesn’t try to sell Father’s Day as, say, car dealers or appliances do, but rather honors it. And in doing so, the brand becomes part of the memory it’s trying to celebrate.

June 1, 2026

Parenting Phrases That Quietly Divide Couples and Shape Marketing

Most couples would never intentionally divide parenting into “mom territory” and “dad territory.” But sometimes, our language does it for us.

Take a simple phrase like:
“Can you watch the kids for me?”

At first glance, it sounds harmless. Practical, even. But hidden inside the sentence is an assumption: the children primarily belong to one parent, while the other is temporarily assisting.

We hear versions of this everywhere.

“Dad is babysitting tonight.”
“Go ask your mother.”
“Mom’s better at that stuff.”
“He’s helping with the kids.”

None of these phrases are malicious. Most people say them without a second thought. But over time, language has a way of shaping identity, expectations and roles inside a family. And this kind of talk shapes how marketing speaks to us everyday.

When Parenting Becomes Separate Worlds

Eventually, parenting can start to feel less like a shared mission and more like two separate departments operating under one roof.

One parent becomes the default organizer, emotional manager and scheduler. The other slowly drifts into the role of helper, substitute, or “fun parent.” Not necessarily because either person wanted that dynamic, but because culture quietly trained them into it.

The interesting thing is that families often drift apart linguistically before they drift apart relationally.

Compare:
“My son” versus “our son.”
“Can you help me with the kids?” versus “Can we figure this out together?”
“I need a break from the kids” versus “We’ve had a long parenting week.”

Small differences. Big implications.

Words Shape Family Culture

Words create atmosphere. Repeated daily, they create culture. Marketing then uses this creation in content, and thus, an endless, sad cycle continues.

Maybe stronger families aren’t built only through big moments, vacations, or parenting strategies. Maybe they’re also built through tiny reminders — spoken over and over — that this family belongs to both of us and each parents matters just the same.

Be an example for marketing and media by choosing your language carefully. Because in their line of work, words definitely matter.

May 1, 2026

When “Psst, moms…” Says More Than You Think

There’s a small line at the top of a Dermoplast ad that does a lot of heavy lifting: “Psst, moms! You need this in your first aid kit.”

That’s it. Ten words. Easy to scroll past.

But it quietly reveals something bigger about how parenting – and parents – are still being marketed to in today’s modern world.

Because here’s the thing: the product itself isn’t inherently “for moms.” It’s a pain relief spray. The larger message in the ad even says it “does more than help new moms,” which suggests broader usefulness. And yet, the hook, or entry point, is aimed squarely at mothers.

Not parents. Not families. Moms.

And this isn’t unusual. It’s the default.

For decades, marketing has treated moms as the primary (and often only) caregiver worth speaking to. Society is working hard at moving past this, but not marketing. Rather, it quietly reinforces a tired, old-fashioned narrative: when it comes to care, responsibility belongs to mothers first.

Which raises a question: where does that leave dads?

Because fatherhood sure doesn’t look like it used to. Dads are in delivery rooms. Dads are stocking first aid kits. Dads are doing late-night care, recovery support and everything in between. Not as “helpers,” but as parents.

And yet, they’re still largely invisible in moments like this.

To be clear, this isn’t about criticizing a single brand. Dermoplast is sadly doing what countless companies have done for years, and that is speaking to the audience they’ve been taught is “the buyer.” But, again, culture has moved faster than marketing.

The opportunity here isn’t just inclusion for inclusion’s sake. It’s accuracy. It’s relevance. It’s recognizing what families actually look like today.

Imagine the same ad reframed slightly:

“Psst, parents…”
or even
“For those first days home don’t forget this.”

Suddenly, the door opens wider. The message doesn’t lose clarity but rather gains truth.

The reality is simple: care isn’t a mom-only job. And the brands that start reflecting that reality won’t just be more inclusive, they’ll be more aligned with the families they’re trying to reach.

The question isn’t whether dads are part of the story.

It’s why they’re still being left out of the opening line.

April 1, 2026

One Small Word, One Giant Leap Backward

A recent ad from SignUpGenius is getting some attention online. Not for what it does, but for how it says it. The line reads: “Moms everywhere are using this to keep school and group stuff organized.”

Language doesn’t just reflect reality, it reinforces it.

And as we often say, words matter.

When a brand defaults to using the word “mom” for all things parenting, it subtly signals who is expected to own the work. Not who can do it. Not who does do it in many families. But who should. And that matters, especially in a culture with generations of dads taking initiative and sharing the invisible labor of family life.

The pushback online isn’t really about one word, it’s about what that word represents. For some, it feels like erasure. For others, it feels accurate. Both can be true at the same time.

This isn’t a call to shame brands or nitpick every line of copy. It’s a reminder of how small choices add up.

It’s a reminder – again – that words matter.

Swapping “moms” for “parents,” or even “families,” doesn’t erase moms, it simply widens the circle. It acknowledges the dads who are shopping, organizing the carpools, signing up for snack duty, and managing the chaos behind the scenes. Besides, do moms really want all the work pinned on them?

And from a marketing perspective, that’s not just more inclusive, it’s more accurate than ever.

Because the modern family isn’t one-size-fits-all. And the language we use shouldn’t be either.

March 2, 2026

What’s Up With Brands Still Pretending Dad Can’t Read a Diaper Box?

For all the talk about changing family dynamics, brands still act like dads are wandering the baby aisle in a daze, hoping a kindly mom will swoop in and translate the packaging. But if you’ve paid even five minutes of attention to modern fatherhood, you know that image is wildly outdated and costing companies money.

Today’s dads research car seats like they’re buying a NASA escape pod. They compare diaper absorbency charts. They follow pediatricians on Instagram. Yet when you look at most advertising in the baby, household, or family wellness space, you’d think dads vanished decades ago. The “default parent” in marketing is still wrongly to believed mom despite dads now handling bedtime routines, pediatric visits, and shopping trips at record levels.

This disconnect between reality and representation isn’t just a cultural problem, it’s a revenue problem. Brands spend millions studying consumer behavior, yet overlook half the parenting market simply because their messaging hasn’t been updated since dial-up internet. And in an era when authenticity wins, ignoring modern fatherhood makes companies look tone-deaf, out of touch, and uninterested in the families actually using their products.

The opportunity is huge: show dads as competent, caring, equal partners, not comic relief. Showcase real co-parenting moments: formula prep, nighttime bottle duty, diaper decisions, meal planning, cleaning, household purchases. That doesn’t erase moms; it reflects reality. It promotes stronger families.

Marketers love talking about meeting customers “where they are.” Well, dads are here. They’re active, involved, and spending money. It’s time the industry caught up with modern fatherhood and stopped pretending dad is just a background character in his own family story.

February 2, 2026

Why Formula Brands Still Target Only Moms – And Why It’s a Colossal Mistake

Formula feeding is one of the few parts of early parenting where both parents can participate equally. Unlike breastfeeding, bottle feeding is literally built for shared responsibility. So you’d think formula companies and brands like Baby Brezza would be leading the charge in showing dads feeding, soothing, prepping, and bonding.

But check out one of their recent social media ads aimed at moms. It’s costing them brand relevance, credibility and customers.

Why does this outdated approach persist?

First, legacy marketing dies hard. Many baby brands built their playbooks decades ago, anchored in the assumption that “mom is the customer.” Those assumptions became their personas, their agency briefs, their influencer lists – basically the entire ecosystem. Even when dads became more hands-on, the marketing didn’t evolve.

Second, the personas behind the campaigns are stuck in time. Plenty of formula brands have profiles like “First-Time Mom Jenna,” but none for “Night-Shift Dad Malik” or “Stay-at-Home Dad Jacob.” If dads aren’t represented in the strategic foundation, they won’t appear in the content.

Third, some marketers fear backlash for challenging stereotypes. They worry that showing a dad feeding a baby might “confuse traditional messaging” or “exclude moms.” Ironically, this fear actually excludes dads and alienates a growing share of modern families.

Fourth, they underestimate dads’ buying power. Dads research formulas, read reviews, choose gadgets, and handle plenty of the 3 a.m. feeds. Brands ignoring this are simply leaving money on the table.

In the end, the issue isn’t that dads aren’t involved. It’s that marketers aren’t paying attention. Formula and tech-feeding brands should be the first to embrace co-parent messaging, not the last to catch up.

Dads are already in the nursery. It’s time the marketing showed up too.