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#HowToDad
True Reach: 337,664 views
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Cheerios
7/15/14 |
For much of the last century, women were the primary homemakers and caregivers, and thus, the primary household shoppers. As such, CPG brands’ have targeted women and, more specifically, shopper moms for more than a century.
But times they are a changing. In the past decade, CPGs have started addressing shopper dad, as well as shopper mom. It’s been subtle, until now. Just as a recent wave of CPG video campaigns have preached female empowerment, Cheerios is empowering all dads with its latest campaign, #HowToDad.
#HowToDad follows an upbeat dad through his morning routine with his wife and four children. He explains the joys of fatherhood in a fast-paced commentary that switches smoothly between directly addressing the camera and providing various suggestions to his brood as they ready for the day.
He doesn’t miss a step, or a beat, a commentary on the way that modern dads have to multi-task in order to keep the family afloat. The cadence of the monologue is likely to remind viewers of other famous viral hits, like Dollar Shave Club, albeit a bit toned down.
In this ad, mom becomes a set piece, someone who is served coffee by dad as she prepares for a day at the office. Gone is the stereotyped ad dad who is foolish and unknowing. Here we have super dad – a knowledgeable rule maker, caregiver, and fun friend – an excellent complement to the well-established stereotype of super mom.
Created for its new Peanut Butter Cheerios by Tribal Worldwide in Toronto, #HowToDad has garnered a True Reach® of more than 337,000 views in the two weeks it has been live. True Reach is the most complete measure of viewership, combining the viewership of brand-syndicated videos, as well as associated user-uploaded copies and derivatives, across hundreds of the web’s most visited video sites.
In addition to those views, it’s driven more than 500 tweets and 7,000 Facebook interactions. While that might not be as sizeable as other recent Cheerios campaigns, the feedback the brand is getting from social users in fantastic.
“For years Dads like me have been nothing but a clueless joke to advertisers and I’ve called them out every time I see them. Finally a brand showcases Dads as who we really are,” wrote one YouTube viewer.
While dads are being featured more in brand campaigns, and CPG campaigns in particular, it is still rare to see a campaign celebrate dads so effusively, so long past Father’s Day. The fact that the campaign isn’t related to the holiday – that it revels in fatherhood just to revel in fatherhood – is bound to resonate more and more as the content is shared.
Not only is the creative a departure from CPG brands treatment of fathers, but also it is a departure from the sugary sweet Cheerios ads that audiences have come to expect. There aren’t any scenes of babies or toddlers gumming down the tiny o’s from their high chairs – in fact, we never see the food at all, only the box – and there are no aww-inducing moments between parent and child.
The creative is decidedly edgy for the brand, with just the right amount of humor. And while the new take creative direction is likely a reflection of the edginess of the product itself – Peanut Butter Cheerios – we sure wouldn’t mind a second helping.