Two GMP writers offer two different takes: Is this a glimpse at new, unsure parents or another poor example of the modern dad in advertising?
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When something goes viral, it can get people talking, including the writers of GMP. Both supporters of dads, Tabitha Studer and Heather Gray were left with two different impressions of this video. They invite you to weigh in with your take in the comments section below.
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Tabitha Studer:
The ad sweetly portrays the moment that comes when you have to take that leap from surely-someone-(anyone?)-knows-better-than-me into the scarier yet exhilarating realization that maybe-I-can-do-this-myself.
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While watching the newest viral ad out of Thailand, nostalgia drifted me swiftly back to those first few weeks with our first newborn. There’s nothing like having your first baby to slap you in the face with how little you know…about anything. In those first weeks, my own husband; an only child with little baby experience, initially defaulted to me when it came to baby-related worries or questions. Not because I actually knew any better than him but because as the breastfeeding mom, I inherently was spending significantly more time with our newest family member. We operated for a while in those first few weeks as exhausted mom acting as a feeding station while exhausted dad tried to hold everything else in our life together.
The ad sweetly portrays the moment that comes when you have to take that leap from surely-someone-(anyone?)-knows-better-than-me into the scarier yet exhilarating realization that maybe-I-can-do-this-myself. I giggled at the sight of the Dad in the ad, theatrically grabbing at his chest at the mention of the baby being hungry, as my own husband has joked to me that, “Tiny babies don’t need me for anything – Mom has got everything they want!” Although dramatically drawn out for theatrical purposes, I smiled at the Dad’s look of disbelief and utter awe at the realization of his ability to solely comfort his child while the Mom watched on with tears in her eyes; reminding me of the frequently used Momma-quote, “I never knew how much I loved your Father until I saw how much he loved you.”
I was warmed to see that the overall message of the ad was that despite that feeling of doubt in yourself and the convenience of devices; love will always supersede technology. The ad featured a dad, and as I watched I was reminded of my own kids’ Daddy but also reflected on the moments of self-doubt experienced by their Mom (me), their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Self-doubt is a universal experience and in today’s digitally charged world it is far easier to lean on someone (or some device) to get us through those moments than to take the leap and believe in our abilities.
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Heather Gray:
All I saw was a crying baby with a hapless father who didn’t know what to do and immediately needed to call the child’s mother before trying anything else.
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When I clicked the link for “Thailand Does it Again” on Adweek.com, I was prepared for my sappy “Awww” moment. After all, Thailand did pretty much hit it out of the park with their last one. No tissues were needed for me this time as my “Awww” moment became one big sigh that sounded more like “Ugh!!”
I know they intended to deliver a sentimental message reminding people not to become so dependent on technology that they forget about connection. However, they really missed the mark this time. All I saw was a crying baby with a hapless father who didn’t know what to do and immediately needed to call the child’s mother before trying anything else.
The mother then feeds into his cluelessness by trying to soothe the baby herself via facetime. It’s not until the end of the video that it occurs to the father to maybe try to pick the baby up, himself.
This is where I sighed. The portrayal of modern fatherhood here shows that the father only thinks to pick up the crying child as a last resort when other things failed. The idea that a father wouldn’t think first to pick up a crying baby before trying anything else sets the dads movement back a few steps. Dads deserve more credit and more respect than this portrayal.
The makers of this video wanted to tug at heartstrings and wanted their viewers to connect to the message. I am sure many watching and sharing this video were moved by the bond they saw. All I saw was the work left to be done in supporting and celebrating dads in word, action, and yes—advertising.
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Two strong supporters of dads. Two different views. What do you think? Join the conversation below.
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Photo: YouTube Screenshot
I agree with Heather Gray. Good intentions, bad results!
It does seem like another clueless dad commercial except mom doesn’t really come to the rescue and I’m wondering if that older woman is judging her for leaving her child at home.
Men in Thailand know how to take care of babies. The Thai’s are a tribal “like” community and are very framilulare with older and younger brothers, sisters and neighbors kids. In most smaller Thai communities you can touch a strangers kid and its mostly okay and you can see it happening all the time. The commercial is simply radically dramatizing that technology isn’t scary, weird, too modern or wrong and technology certainly shouldn’t be looked down upon. Thats the target idea of the commercial so that all Thais, young and old are social allowed to buy and use phones and… Read more »
Some (activist) dads love to overreact and play the victims all the time. They just wanted to say what you just read: technology will never replace love (and touch). That was the way they found more fit to portray it. And that is true many guys (and many girls) don’t exactly know what to do when they first have their first newborn, let’s face it. Nothing wrong with that, they are just unprepared. Most girls will also usually spend more time with their babies and guys can take a little longer to catch up. You dads are not super heroes;… Read more »