Last year, Gillette's Father's Day idea was to hijack web search to get fathers to give their sons personalized answers to the kind of questions they type in online. In 2017, with the advent of more AI in our lives and digital assistants like Amazon's Alexa, the brand and agency Grey New York have moved things on a step.

In the 2017 Father's Day spot, several young men are asked to try out a new, unnamed AI app for advice on topics like dating, tie-wearing and (of course) shaving. Unbeknownst to them, their fathers are actually behind a screen providing the (doctored) voice of the app. The sons' surprised reactions when all are revealed seem genuine -- to the extent that one can't seem to get it even when he sees his father.

While not hugely different to last year's campaign, the stunt evolves the idea in a topical way, and will again strike a chord with parents and their offspring -- Gillette tell us 84% of guys say their go-to source of information is their phone.

The campaign also reflects a trend towards brands highlighting the benefits of genuine human interaction over disembodied digital technology -- such as JetBlue did in its interactive billboard stunt in New York last summer.