Father’s Day 2024—How Lincoln, Walmart and other brands are honoring super dads

Dads are often the first heroes; a strong reliable presence that most share their first adventures with. And, yes, they’re notorious for telling terribly corny jokes. As Father’s Day approaches, several brands are recognizing the roles fathers play in our lives. To all dads—near or far, with us or gone—Happy Father's Day. Also read: How brands celebrated Mother’s Day 2024 Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards Join us July 23 & 24 in Boston Learn more here Here’s how several brands across a variety of categories are honoring super dads in 2024. Lincoln Among many core memories of young adulthood, learning how to drive is a pivotal moment. There are few things quite like getting behind the wheel and learning how to accelerate or brake with mom or dad by your side, or that feeling when you finally earn your driver’s license. This Father’s Day Lincoln is honoring that moment, often shared between father and child, in a two-episode content series featuring actor and brand ambassador Matthew McConaughey and his son Levi McConaughey who is learning how to drive as he nears his 16th birthday. McConaughey shares unscripted life advice and driving wisdom with his son based on his own experiences behind the wheel. He also shares his appreciation for the open road and what Levi earning his license means to him. The first episode broke online on June 13, to be followed by the second on Father’s Day. ParentsSOS A campaign from the Parents for Safe Online Spaces (ParentsSOS) initiative is centered around bereaved fathers who have lost a child because of online harms. A Father’s Day video ad features a father, Todd Minor, sharing the story of his son Matthew, who died in March 2019 as a result of a viral online challenge. In the video, Minor urges New York Senator Chuck Schumer to give families the gift of a safer internet—the campaign calls on New York legislators and Capitol Hill to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). In addition to the video, ParentsSOS will run two digital billboards in Times Square on Father’s Day, June 16, calling on people to urge their senators to save lives by bringing KOSA to a vote on behalf of all fathers and parents. The ad features the image of Todd Minor and his wife Mia. Another digital ad calls out the jarring stat that 100,000 people in New York will be diagnosed with an eating disorder by age 20 due to online exposures. The ads are supported by Fairplay and the Eating Disorders Coalition. Bijan Mustardson Dad gifts, like dad jokes, are predictable—T-shirts, hats, possibly a grilling set. This Father’s Day, mustard brand Bijan Mustardson, started by creative agency Callen, is spicing things up a bit. Created in partnership with Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, Bijan Mustardson is expanding its merchandise line to include specialty items such as a branded chainsaw, crowbar, flare, hang glider and jet ski for the dads who like to live unpredictably and on the edge. The brand will run a 15% discount until June 16 for online orders. Nutrafol Nutrafol has a new campaign aimed at myth-busting the misconception that genetics are the sole cause of hair thinning. Along with declaring June 14 as Happy (You Don’t Have To Have Your) Father’s (Hair) Day, Nutrafol is launching a cheeky collection of mugs, cards and aprons available for purchase alongside Nutrafol Men. The initiative comes as the majority of men (54%) attribute genetics as a top root cause for hair thinning, according to Nutrafol. In reality, multiple factors are at play including nutrition, hormones, metabolism, stress, lifestyle and aging. The Father’s Day campaign follows the brand’s More to Hair campaign. Also read: Top 5 creative campaigns from last week Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation Two years ago Lydia Choi, creative director at Colle McVoy, asked the questions “Who introduced you to fishing? Do you still fish? If not, what happened?” at a client kick-off meeting with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. At the time, women in the room shared similar experiences: many of them learned from a dad, grandpa or uncle and fished a lot when they were kids. As they grew, that became less of a pastime. That insight led to an emotive campaign created in the Minneapolis-based studio Make for Father’s Day. The animated short film “Second Catch” shows how a dad and his daughter bond while fishing. As she grows older and spends more time with friends, she and her dad grow apart—until she has her own daughter. In addition to the film, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation partnered with Evite to create e-invitations inspired by the short. Gwoop, an online gaming platform used by schools, is also hosting the film. “Second Catch” will be distributed within Disney CTV, which includes Disney+, Hulu and DXP. Video cuts will run across Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok. The foundation is also partnering with two dad creators and two daughter creators through TikTok’s Creator Exchange for custom content. Béis As Ad Age’s Gillian Follett previously reported, Béis teamed up with creator and brand consultant Robyn DelMonte, aka “Girlbosstown” on social media, to develop and produce the brand’s first major Father’s Day campaign. The campaign centers around improving the online reputation of the “airport dad,” or dads who are known for taking charge or being overprepared when flying with their families. Over the past few years, users have shared videos of their fathers or others in their lives exhibiting “airport dad” behaviors, including shepherding their family to the airport two hours before their flight or keeping their family’s boarding passes in a manila folder. The new campaign overhauls this image by taking paparazzi-style photos of attractive men at the airport with their Béis bags and posting them with copy or captions such as “Meet the hottest man in Hollywood right now. The Airport Dad,” and “From airport dad ... to airport daddy.” @beis Reintroducing: The Airport Dad. Baggage you’ll want to claim. @GirlBossTown @Isaac Rochell @Michael Justin ♬ original sound - Beis Travel Walmart As previously covered in Creativity, Walmart is reframing negative stereotypes with an animated film that portrays Black fathers and honors them as super-dads. Created with Chicago-based agency Contender, “The League of Black and Unlimited Dads” is an animated short film that shows how a group of dads answer the call of fatherhood by taking holistic approaches to parenting. The film was inspired by Centers of Disease Control (CDC) data that show Black fathers are generally more involved in their children’s lives than other fathers. Walmart also created a hub on its website dedicated to products made by Black dads and other Black creators. Elijah Craig Bourbon brand Elijah Craig commemorates the highs and lows of father-child relationships in a new spot from agency of record Method1. In the spot, a father reads a card from his son, as a voiceover details all the things that father has been to him: a hero, a coach, and of course “embarrassing.” As he reads, different shots capture artifacts throughout the aging father’s home that represent his role in his son’s life. It ends with the father and son sitting down to bond over a drink of their beloved brand, Elijah Craig. Elijah Craig also created a customizable label that can be bought online and applied to purchased bottles of bourbon. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Father’s Day 2024—How Lincoln, Walmart and other brands are honoring super dads

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