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 But if you’ve paid even five minutes of attention to modern fatherhood, you know that image is wildly outdated and costing companies money.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.

December 24, 2018

‘Twas the night before marketing to dads

‘Twas the night before marketing to dads,
When all through the house,
Dad was excluded,
By an iconic brand mouse.

It’s hard to know why,
A travel program is named,
Disney Moms and not “Parents,”
Dads should be treated the same.

But they’re not all around.
Dads are left out of the talk.
Take a look at some ads,
It’s all quite a shock.

In the blink of an eye,
And a twist of your head,
Soon will give you to know,
You have plenty to dread.

“Choosy Moms Choose Jif,”
Peanut butter will say,
That’s only the beginning of,
The dad-parent downplay.

Formula, diapers,
Medicine, more.
Dad’s always left out,
By marketing lore.

Look at formula ads,
We’re talking bottles, not breastfeeding.
Dad’s a perfect consumer,
Why isn’t Similac heeding?

You’d also think Boppy,
Would market to men.
It’s a pillow for propping,
Read its history again.

And mmm, Texas Toast.
It’s a garlicky love-in,
Yet notice the ad,
Dad can’t handle an oven?

When a child is sick,
Dad will manage the fever.
But Exergen thinks,
He’s an underachiever.

Even medicine makers,
Insist dad can’t administer.
Mom wouldn’t be happy,
If Dr. Cocoa dismissed her.

Diapers are often a point,
Of daddy exclusion.
It’s hard to know why,
It’s such a confusion.

Oh, Huggies! Not Pampers!
Luvs, too. Earth’s Best?
Dad deserves better,
This must be addressed.

We’ll admit some have changed,
Like Amazon and Kix,
But there’s still work to do.
It doesn’t take tricks.

So just when you think,
One parent is in charge.
Think again! Think equally!
Dads are parents – supercharged!

Consider how you treat them,
Don’t drive dad out of sight,
Don’t leave him left out,
And you’ll have a good night.

February 19, 2015

Not the earth’s best advertisement

A friend of mine once had an unsettling experience at her job.

It was during a typical end-of-year holiday luncheon when the boss praised a group of workers for a successful project. The cantankerous male boss, however, had a rather old-fashioned attitude toward women in the workplace. He reluctantly accepted females, but didn’t see them as equals to males.

Nevertheless, my friend had an equal part in helping this particular project reach its fruition.

At the luncheon, the company chief praised a group of male colleagues for their project work, while intentionally omitting my friend’s name.

She took the high road and never said a word about it again, but being left out really hurt her.

In fact, that same episode has sadly been replayed a few times since, yet she keeps silently marching on and doing her part. She really doesn’t want or need any praise, but rather, just wants to be acknowledged that she’s a part of the team.

This story bears a striking resemblance to the latest ad from Earth’s Best (featured), makers of earth friendly disposable diapers and wipes.

Note the small-in-print, but large-in-scope exclusion from the bottom of its American Baby magazine ad.

Don’t dads care? Don’t they love their little ones?

Not so, says Earth’s Best, who exhibits the identical uncomfortable and disconcerting conduct of my friend’s boss.

The dad exclusion continues on over at earthsbest.com, where it features a “For Mom, By Mom” section, leaving dads in the cyberspace dust. It’s a not-so-subtle way of Earth’s Best saying that it doesn’t expect dads to visit its site, almost as if they aren’t able to point and click. Very disturbing, indeed.

And while we’ll continue to take the high road, we won’t be silent – dadmarketing is here to call out advertising excluders like Earth’s Best and ask it to change.

Dads count too, and if Earth’s Best wants dads to buy its products, it should market them accordingly.