Calls For Dad: Try To Watch This Tribute To Real Fatherhood Without A Tear In Your Eye

Father’s Day is coming up on June 15, but this new video, “Calls For Dad,” from the people behind the innovative Dove skin care ad campaigns, reminds us that Father’s Day is really 365 days per year. The video compiles 26 moments that most every dad can relate to. But more importantly, if you have — or ever had — a dad, you will find this short film hard to watch without a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye.

The film entitled “Calls For Dad” — it’s technically a commercial, but we think this tribute to fatherhood rises well above ordinary advertising — was made after Dove conducted a survey that found what dads actually do in their real lives and the way the media portrays the role of dads is very, very different.

“Calls For Dad” sets out to correct the misperceptions. We think it does the job in a beautiful and moving way.

The survey, Dove Men+Care Dad Portrayal Research Study, 2014, found that while about 75 percent of dads say that they are responsible for the emotional care and well-being of their child, or children, only 20 percent said they saw that role widely reflected in the way the media and advertising portrays dads.

In fact, when asked to describe how the media portrayed dads, the most common adjectives used by men in the Dove survey were “bumbling,” “disconnected” and “incompetent.” The “clueless dad” stereotype still prevails, it seems.

“‘Calls For Dad’ is a film we made to showcase just a few of these caring moments that, unfortunately, are absent from how dads are typically depicted today in media and advertising,” said Rob Candelino, a marketing vice-president for Dove’s parent company, Unilever.

Dove has also found data indicating that men watch YouTube twice as much as women do. And given the YouTube success the company has experienced with YouTube campaigns aimed at women, with “Calls For Dad,” the company returns to YouTube to get its message about real fatherhood out — to real dads.

We can’t tell you whether or not to buy Dove products, but we can definitely say that you should spend the minute it takes to watch “Calls For Dad.” Maybe you’ll see something of our own dad in these images, as well.