A few months ago, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Emma Johnson for The Real Deal blog at the RetailMeNot site. In an article titled, "No More Mr. Mom: Daddy bloggers fight for their right to parent—and big brands listen," I tried, alongside bloggers and writers at Daddy Doctrines, Hogan Hilling, Dad or Alive, and DaDa Rocks, to say why I thought it was important to call out brands that ignore dads or portray dads as bumbling fools.The case we all made then, which some of us repeated last week during a Google Hangout, was that this was not simply an issue of dads being offended and crying foul. During the hangout, we talked about this as an issue that should be important to moms as well as to dads, since the more dads are being portrayed in a positive light and encouraged to do their share in the house, the more moms will be able to be free to advance their careers outside the home. We also mentioned the chicken and egg issue with marketers (are they feeding off society, or are they also "feeding" society?), and we gave a number of examples of good marketing to dads, as well as bad marketing, ending with an understanding that the best portrayal of dads is one that doesn't try to define fatherhood using outdated stereotypes, but one that simply shows dads and their kids at their most normal parent-child moments.
I hope you get a chance to look at the video. It's just under 30 minutes, and it's worth it, if only to hear just how thick my accent is. Frankly, I had no idea. In my head, I sound like John Wayne.
