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September 26, 2014

Really cheesy

If roughly 64 percent of mothers are working moms, and the proportion of working moms has gone up 800 percent since 1860, then who’s feeding kids after-school snacks?babybel

Not dads, according to the marketing team at Babybel.

We found another discouraging ad in the October 2014 Parents magazine which makes dads feel like they don’t count. That ad is from Babybel, who used two simple words (“Attention Moms!”) to change the entire focus and feel of this print ad.

It’s not like we see Babybel advertising during primetime TV or in USA Today, so when they do spend their advertising dollar we suspect they need to get a hit during every at-bat. That’s what makes this ad even more disappointing. They placed it in, not a mothers-only magazine, but Parents magazine, where they had a chance to market to both moms and dads. Instead, they came up flat.

Ironically, Babybel’s website proclaims their cheese to be “the snack your whole family will love.” That seems difficult to believe, as they single-handedly made dads to be nonexistent when it comes to providing the after-school snack.

At the bottom of the ad, Babybel’s message ends with “Let’s be friends.”

That’s a tough request for dads to consider. They weren’t even asked in the first place.

September 22, 2014

Bad medicine

Change is hard for products stuck in the past, but for a company that’s brand new it may be easier to look drcocoamodern and get things correct right from the start.

Take for instance, sports nicknames. If I started a new professional sports franchise, do you think there’s any chance I’m going to choose an antiquated and offensive team name like the Redskins, Indians, or Chiefs?

No. Way.

So what in the name of Jif Peanut Butter is going on with new children’s medicine Dr. Cocoa?

If you’ve been unlucky enough to get your hands on a copy of the October 2014 Parents magazine, you’ll notice that there’s an ad for a new kids medicine called Dr. Cocoa (pictured). In Dr. Cocoa’s advertising world, dads simply don’t count.

Dr. Cocoa continues to perpetuate the unfortunate notion that dads don’t really take care of sick kids at night. That’s supposedly what moms do, and dads are pinch hitters at best.

There’s nothing like introducing a new product with a decent premise and completing blowing the premiere by alienating dads right from the start.

And I thought owls were supposed to be “wise” creatures.

September 15, 2014

Beyond words

Parent-type magazines seem to regularly flub up the whole dad thing. Whether it involves headlines, photos, stories, or ads, these magazines seem to consistently fail in execution. Our latest discovery is no exception.parenting

At parenting.com you’ll find a “Just for Dad” section, along with a “Just for Mom” section. There’s no denying that dads and moms are different people and can operate as parents differently, so each section seems reasonable in terms of need.

Our problem comes in their description of each section. Let’s take a closer look at what you can actually find posted for real at parenting.com under the menu tab “parenting advice”:

  • Just for Mom: Mom is supposed to know it all, all the time. But what if you don’t? With some tips from experts and the wisdom of other moms, we can figure it out together.
  • Just for Dad: Guys, need guidance on dad issues like out of control diapers and surviving a trip to the store with kids? When your partner isn’t around, let us be a resource for all your parenting questions.

Here at dadmarketing, we decided to translate this hidden, marketing-driven-speak so we can all compare apples to apples. Here’s what each description really says:

  • Just for Mom: Mom isn’t just supposed to know it all, all the time; she does know it all, all the time – and dad is not expected to, because mom usually does the parenting. That’s right, don’t trouble asking the dad in your household, because he simply doesn’t know what to do. Ever. That’s why we have tips from experts and wisdom from other moms available here, because dad doesn’t handle the kids as much as mom. He cares too much about his job. We’ll figure it out together without the help of dad, who doesn’t bother to help you anyway. Even when he’s not at work, that lazy, bumbling guy is too busy watching sports in his man cave, anyway, right?
  • Just for Dad: Guys, need guidance on dad issues like out of control diapers, because we all know dads don’t know how to change diapers. Dads usually let moms handle that stinky stuff. Even if they handle a rare diaper change, most dads dry babies’ bottoms with automatic hair dryers in bathrooms, so that says something about their parenting skills. They don’t even know how to do those pull-tab things or clean up when the dirty work is done. And dads, don’t even attempt to take your kids to stores, because you won’t survive it. Note that we don’t say you won’t be able to endure it – you simply won’t survive it. It’s truly a matter of life and death that you don’t go to the store with your kids. So, turn to this section for resources when mom (swallow hard) actually grants you permission to be home with the kids alone.

How about that original word choice by parenting.com? Who says mom is supposed to know it all? We know who: only those saddled by old-fashioned stereotypes which parenting.com continues to perpetuate. An informal dadmarketing office poll found that no one in our circle of friends or family thinks like that.

And dads needing guidance to survive a trip to the store? Would anyone ever dare say that to a mother? Ever? Then why say it to a father? It’s demeaning. It’s belittling. It’s condescending.

The irony in all this is that parenting.com’s tagline is: Modern families + fresh ideas. We don’t see anything modern or fresh about their choice of words.

Remember parenting.com: words are your business. Without them, you don’t have a magazine or a website.

Let’s hope for a revision soon.

September 10, 2014

Jif, ignoring the problem only makes it worse

We seem to be on a Jif Rift lately.jifad

Part of it has to do with Jif ads on TV. They’re continuing to use the outdated, old fashioned choosy slogan that further validates they are the “Washington Redskins of Ad Slogans” (refusing to change when others say they need to). Their new ads during prime time bring back the unpleasantness into the limelight once again, so in effect they’re creating their own problems.

Another complaint has to do with their blatant snubbing of our inquiries. We’re simply trying to chat with them via Twitter, but they’re flat-out ignoring us. Herein lies the principal reason we were formed – to stop dad exclusion in marketing and advertising. It doesn’t matter how good a product is, if Jif doesn’t even listen to its consumers (i.e., dads), they’re not maximizing their potential. Period.

Odd as all that may seem (and believe us, Jif continues to get more odd everyday as they press on with this ridiculous slogan in today’s world), the fact they added their only-audible, non-print dad-add-on, “Choosy moms and dads choose Jif,” makes things even more peculiar.

Here’s what Justin Aclin of the excellent Hunter PR blog wrote on February 22:

“‘Brands get in trouble when they think having a dad in the commercial necessitates calling out that it’s a dad,’ said Chris Routly—who gained national attention when his blog The Daddy Doctrines called out a Huggies ad campaign to the point where the ads were eventually pulled—on a panel discussion called ‘Marketing to Today’s Dad.’”

As if this quote wasn’t enough, notice the image featured in this blog post. Doesn’t the photo make Jif look like a confused company when coupled with their slogan? And as we pointed out on July 17, this silly add-on only draws more attention to the fact that Jif has excluded dads for a long time.

It’s been 56 years since Jif was introduced in 1958, but it’s not too late.

Jif, please make things right and be a brand of the future, not your past – because as we consumers see it now, your past is your present.

September 1, 2014

Labor over this

In many cases, dad remains as the provider for the family. Statistics show that men traditionally make more money than women (which I think we all can agree is unfair), therefore making dad the unofficial breadwinner.

But no matter whether you’re a dad or a mom, there remains the ugly truth that many are workaholics. We put in hours-upon-hours after work, staying late, working on the weekend, all to try and get ahead or impress the boss. So often it doesn’t even result in more pay, just more time away from loved ones.

If you’re a casual sports fan, you may have heard that James Harrison, a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, just retired from football last week. Harrison spent 10 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one final season with Cincinnati. He was a great success on the field.

But did you see what he said upon announcing his retirement?

“I have made the difficult decision to retire as of today,” Harrison’s statement said. “My love for my family and the need to be there for them outweighs my desire to play the game. I have missed too many experiences with them because I devoted SO much time to my career.

My love for the game isn’t strong enough to make up for missing one more birthday or first day of school.”

Harrison is only 36, yet I’ve heard some share these same sentiments at 63. Admittedly, there are some professions where working long hours are part of the business, and most know that when they get into it in the first place.

But imagine how many dads go an entire lifetime focusing more on work than anything, to the neglect of their family. No one on their death beds ever said they wished they had worked more. Work is important in our lives, but do you live to work, or work to live?

Perhaps this Labor Day all dads can take a moment to rest, and do it with family. Your kids don’t want gifts, money, or entertainment – they want your time.

August 18, 2014

Reel influence

For as many superhero movies as have been created in Hollywood, you’d think by now the industry might take heed of their own advice, “With great power comes great responsibility.”mrmom

The movie industry wields immense power in more ways than one because we love our movies. We watch them in the theater, we rent them, we buy them, we subscribe to them, we quote them, we wear them, we sleep on them, we tattoo them on our bodies.

Movies have huge fan-base followings with week-long conventions. Movies have specific theme park rides. Movies spend millions on advertising campaigns, in fast food restaurants, on billboards. 

Some movies will be eternally watched by the next generation on different formats, living on forever in pop culture fame. Others may never be watched again.

Most are probably in between, but their influence remains.

Take “Mr. Mom,” for instance, and the lasting legacy it has left on dad stereotypes.

The film was made 31 years ago, enjoyed quite decent success, and was clearly a product of its times. In the early 1980s women were making fantastic strides in various arenas. Sandra Day O’Connor was named the first woman justice of the Supreme Court. Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman nominated by a major political party to run for vice president of the United States.

These historic events brought about major changes to women. It opened up doors to professions that had normally belonged to men, and demanded equality in nearly every walk of life. It wasn’t perfect and still isn’t, but the gender balance was becoming more balanced.

Given all these events, it was no wonder that famed movie writer John Hughes came up with a mom-dad role reversal movie that many found hilarious. Three decades later, stay-at-home dads are still not the norm, but it’s easy to find humor in the storyline.

The name itself is so self-explanatory, that one hardly needs to see the movie poster or even watch a clip to wonder what it might be about. Its title has been used over and over so many times that it alone demonstrates the power of the movie industry, and overall media influence.

Nearly any reference to a stay-at-home dad, whether in media or informal conversation references the movie title. A label was born, and it will never go away. “Back to the Future” is another over-referenced movie title that comes to mind, and seems to work its way into language anytime someone needs a catchy reference to the future.

If the “Mr. Mom” movie had been given a different title, say, “Switcheroo,” would the movie have slipped out of our pop culture consciousness a long time ago? If Hughes were able to bring back the original cast for a sequel, would a title and premise such as “Mrs. Dad” have the same effect?

I have no issue with the “Mr. Mom” movie concept. But we must all remember the thought, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Truly, the next time you’re ready to tell a story – dear movie industry – and spend money on actors, sets and marketing, consider that you’re not only investing in millions of dollars, but also into the human psyche, for which there is no price tag.

And the only sequel to that is the next generation of consumers, of whom you apply great influence.

July 17, 2014

Let’s fix it in a Jif-fy

Some say there isn’t any common sense in Washington, but dadmarketing would argue otherwise. The year was 1995 when the NBA’s Washington Bullets changed its nickname to the Wizards. Apparently then-team owner Abe Pollin decided the Bullets name carried violent overtones, especially in a city with a high homicide and crime rate. And apparently he was jifright.

One can certainly argue the eventual new name – how it hasn’t caught on, how it carries other negative undertones, how it is a product of a fad at the times – but that would be missing the point. “Bullets” simply wasn’t appropriate anymore. It didn’t take the action of one owner to spur it along, because many realized it. The change was long overdue.

And then you have Jif Peanut Butter’s slogan: Choosy Moms Choose Jif.

It’s not just in Jif’s latest TV ad, it’s plastered all over their website, and it’s been a part of the brand for a long time.

I can hear people already (both moms and dads), because many of them spoke out when we discussed Kix’s outdated motto:

  • Chill out, it’s just a slogan.
  • Everyone has to be so “PC” nowadays.
  • Much ado about nothing.
  • There’s more important things to worry about.

We here at dadmarketing like to think of the Jif slogan as SWASFTSOI: Staying With A Slogan For The Sake Of It.

To explain further, imagine for a moment, that the United States government had a slogan before 1919 (like the Army’s “I Want You” slogan) which read, “Real men vote.” It might have been a decent slogan back in the day and worked well at the time, because after all, only men could vote then. However, let’s pretend they kept using that slogan to this very day, and we all saw it when we entered voting precincts. Of course, it would seem a tad outdated because we all know that women can vote, but wouldn’t it yet sting a little to both women and men? Wouldn’t it seem a little offensive? “Real men vote” wouldn’t take anything away from the fact that females could still walk in and exercise their right to vote, but it would just seem old, tired, antiquated – even silly and useless.

That’s all we’re saying about Jif. We get the fact it’s your long-standing company slogan/brand/wordmark, but it’s time to move on and find some other way to market your product (which tastes good, by the way). Change with the times. Jif is like the Washington Redskins of sandwich spreads: an entity that refuses to change out of stubbornness. Their attitude could also be filed under the dreaded, this is the way we’ve always done it.

And yes, Jif, we’ve noticed the latest add-on to your TV commercial which states audibly, though not in print, “Choosy moms and dads choose Jif!” This hardly solves the problem. In fact, it exacerbates it. It’s kind of like saying, “Gosh, I barely notice that huge wart on your nose.” It makes the slogan even more old-fashioned laughable, drawing attention to the fact that Jif has excluded dads for years, if not decades.

It’s the same way that your local high school has had the embarrassing nickname “Lady Bears” for all of its girls sports teams? Why not just “Bears” for both genders, or at least “Gentlemen Bears” for consistency? Ugh. Another topic, another time.

So Jif, let’s get down to business and fix it, the right way, once and for all. Show moms and dads that common sense is alive and well. Dads mean a lot to you, right?

Let’s hope so, because dads have a choice in what peanut butter to buy, and choosy dads choose ________________.

July 12, 2014

Spread the word on Sunbutter

Being a watchdog for the marketing/advertising world is a little bit like being a movie critic. We’re relentlessly trying to evaluate and analyze items we see, and it takes a lot for us to witness someone achieving perfection. We lean toward optimism, but after constant trying of teach an old dog new tricks, we sometimes find ourselves thrust into a position that seems cynical.

When writing about the businesses we see in print or on television, we encounter a quandary: the medium only has so much time and space to offer. We recognize the limitation, but also identify that much is expected and required of the company – the one who has invested sunbutterthousands or millions into its message and people.

A few days ago we came across a TV ad for Sunbutter, a product we use and love. We wrote about their dad exclusion, and Sunbutter immediately entered into a sincere discussion with dadmarketing. They recognized the fact they should be including dads in their slogan, and plan to incorporate them in future ads.

They “got it” right away.

We’re not here to proclaim validation. That is not our mission. Far more important, and the reason we write today, is that a company listened. We didn’t ask them to take our stance, just listen.

They didn’t appease us with a one-time corporate-speak email that they’ll “bring it to the attention of the marketing department.” They didn’t pacify us with promise of a special message-to-come only around Father’s Day. They didn’t set up a patronizing dads-only section of their website.

They simply listened. And we weren’t even expecting change, but that appears to be the direction they’re heading after some genuine, honest and open dialogue.

In short, we salute the people of Sunbutter for their exceptional ability to truly listen to their customers, because we’re one of them.

A good product – which they have – is only part of the equation. Good people is the other part of it. Having both is the sign of a great company with even better things to come.

July 7, 2014

Sunblunder

sunbutterWe all have our products that we truly believe in. Be it a combination of taste, quality, performance, functionality, tradition, or simply that it was used in our childhood, there are some products we’ll buy no matter what.

Sunbutter is one of those for me.

It’s a great substitute for peanut butter and the taste is surprisingly good. More than anything, it’s because someone close to me has a peanut allergy, and I prefer not to have regular peanut butter in the home when she visits. Sure, Sunbutter costs a little more, but it offers flexibility with food and peace of mind that she’ll be safe.

Having peanut safe products is serious business, as it’s a matter of life and death for many. Not only is Sunbutter peanut-free, but gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free, and I suspect we know someone whose diet is affected by these food features. Finding a match for all these “free” characteristics while shopping is a little like finding a senior citizen at a One Direction concert – near impossible.

Sunbutter has such a fantastic niche in the food world, carving out a safe haven for those who have never enjoyed the sweet pleasure of PB&J, or peanut butter fingers, or candy buckeyes.

And then, like a movie hero who suddenly turns bad, Sunbutter alienated dads everywhere with one swift butter knife to the heart in their latest video (note slogan at the :24 mark).

I personally know a dad who gasped, “I am the one who discovered the product, who always purchases it, who promotes it to others, and who regularly uses it. Yet I get excluded from their ad slogan and mom gets all the credit?”

Well, Sunbutter, dads are listening.

July 1, 2014

A Walgreens surprise

I was surprised to learn that the word “hack” has exactly 19 different definitions at dictionary.com, and 24 if you count “verb phrases.” Perhapswalgreens even more surprising is the mostly negative connotations that come with the word hack: to damage, to cut ruthlessly, to kick at shins (ouch).

But we’re groomed from a very young age to believe that all surprises are a good thing, so Walgreens keeps my surprises coming. First, they not only choose to use the word hack with its latest foray into the Twitter-verse, but second, they alienate dads by putting only the word “mom” in front of it, and then hashtagging it.

As you can imagine already, this of course, is the theme of Walgreens’ newest Twitter ad campaign (pictured) that allows us to chuckle at all of our kids’ oopsies in life, which never go “according to plan,” and feature children making all kinds of laughable, silly, goofy messes.

A recent magazine ad states, “We’ve got your back, whenever and wherever you need us,” and urges us to buy their new line of Well Beginnings products (and nope, there isn’t any dad on their website to be found).

What would motivate a dad to shop at Walgreens after seeing this skewed Twitter crusade?

It sounds like their marketing people are hanging out with the Proctor & Gamble people – people who renounce or surrender individual independence, integrity, belief, in return for money in the performance of a task normally thought of as involving a strong personal commitment.

Yeah, that’s a definition of something that rhymes with “ack.” Surprise, surprise.