Maybe it’s just us, but the use of dads in ads seems to be on the rise. In advertising, dads sometimes get a bum rap for being “dumb” or “bumbling.” While this theme is still present in some of the highest scoring commercials, we’re also seeing dads in the role of primary caregiver and even stay-at-home-father. Overall though, one thing is for certain: Dads are funny. Of the top 25 highest rated ads with dads, 18 of them employ humor to get our attention and give us a laugh.
Of the nearly 3,000 ads that have aired so far this year, we compiled a list of ads featuring dads and are sharing the top five with you.
When mom’s away, the kids (and dad) will play. Women loved watching how dad handles the kids on his own when she’s away for business, rating the ad nearly 8% higher than what men awarded the TV spot – and is one of the highest scoring ads of the year according to moms. Consumers also appreciated the role reversal.
The family goes on vacation and instead of looking around, enjoying the moment, the teenagers are looking down at tiny, personal screens. It’s an all too familiar sight for many parents of teenagers. As such, the Relevance score for this dad ad is 15% above the Other Travel category Relevance norm.
This daughter knows how to treat her dad on their daddy-daughter outing. Ten percent of the survey respondents mentioned how “cute” the storyline was, and we couldn’t agree more. The responses left for this ad lead to a high Emotional Sentiment score of 67, 37% above the norm for the QSR category.
LG has debuted several #MomConfessions spots in the last few weeks with “Apple” being its highest rated so far. While this ad does prey on the “dumb dad” (about one in five dad-centric commercial tend to do this), 7% of consumers said the ad was “funny.”
It’s almost too perfect that the number one dad ad this year is dad as the hero – an image that likely evokes many familiar childhood memories. Not only is “Dad’s Sixth Sense” a top Super Bowl spot, it is also the highest rated auto commercial in our database with an Ace Score of 706. Men rated this attention-grabbing spot about 3% higher than what women rated it. Also, impressively, the Emotional Sentiment score for the ad is 76, which is 29% above the Luxury Auto category norm for emotion.
Curious how other ads with dads performed? For a complete look at the role of dads in ads, contact us.
