Super Bowl Ads Promise to Break Dim-Witted Dad Stereotype

After a few years of Super Bowl commercials featuring Dad as the butt of too many jokes, it seems like this year may be in for a refreshing change. There are two pre-released game day ads that show fathers in a positive light.

First up is Dove Men + Care’s 60-second spot, “#RealStrength,” which shows children of various ages calling their dads and ends with the tagline “Care Makes a Man Stronger.” It’s so well-made it’s likely many viewers will be left with tears in their eyes.

Take a look:

http://youtu.be/n_nJRiAY3ZM

The next commercial comes from Toyota. The “To Be a Dad” ad features interviews with “the best dads in professional football” and their children. In it, DeMarcus Ware, LaVar Arrington, Fred Jackson and Kurt Warner talk about their own fathers, and how they see their role as dad. It’s a commercial that’s both serious and heartwarming, leaving audiences with this final encouragement: “Here’s to those who choose to be dads. One bold choice leads to another. Honor your dad.” Watch it for yourself here:

http://youtu.be/hDrDQYP8Bnk

You may be asking yourself why all this interest in commercials?

It’s a good question.

For better or for worse, commercials are part of our popular culture. They reflect society’s ideals and opinions – and they inform them, too. So when the entertainment we take in constantly belittles dads, it both perpetuates and enforces a lie that’s already too pervasive in the culture: that dads don’t matter.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Dads matter. They matter deeply. And as a culture, we should be doing everything possible to encourage boys to become men who value fatherhood and live out their role as dad faithfully and well.

That’s why I’m cautiously optimistic that this year’s ads will say goodbye to the “dumb dad” storyline that has previously flooded the airwaves.

That’s one reason why we’re going to repeat what we did last year in rating the most family-friendly commercials of the Super Bowl. Not only does it serve as light-hearted fun to count down the best ads, it’s a worthwhile exercise to take a discerning look at what we’re fed through entertainment. It’s also helpful to praise companies and organizations that take the high road and develop content that edifies the culture rather than tearing it down.

So be sure to check in Monday morning and find out which commercials Focus named as the most family-friendly ads of the 2015 Super Bowl.

What did you think about the ads by Dove and Toyota? Do you have a favorite Super Bowl commercial of all-time?

You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, family, parenting, pop culture January 28, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura