It’s only natural that comedies would take on dads, Thompson says. Later, shows such as “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties,” “Growing Pains” and “Full House” showcased caring dads of a new generation, Thompson says.īut by the late 1980s, more shows wanted to distance themselves “from the corny, syrupy stuff” – and in stepped shows such as “Married With Children” and “The Simpsons.” While dads in “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Donna Reed Show” had flaws, they were close to what was then thought of as “perfect,” part of an idealized white American family. A study of comics as far back as the 1940s found “incompetent” fathers and other mocking portrayals resurging at times across the decades.īut TV didn’t start skewering dads frequently until much later, says Bob Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. The image of the hapless dad has long roots in American pop culture. AT&T angered some with an ad about a father who somehow couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept of wireless Internet. Huggies isn’t the first to run into frustration from consumers rejecting what they view as an outdated, inaccurate trope. Last month, the NYC Dads Group heaped praise on them for “raising the bar” in how a father was portrayed. Soon, Huggies issued new ads featuring dads caring for their toddlers. On Facebook, the company praised dads and said its intention was to “break out of stereotypes.” And Huggies officials called Routly, giving him a list of steps they were taking to show fathers in a better light. “They were using language that was really saying dads are terrible at this stuff.” “This wasn’t just that they had created a bumbling dad character or that sort of thing or just excluding dad,” like so many other TV portrayals, he said. What exactly made time with dad “the toughest test imaginable?” The ad showed dads making some unpleasant faces and ended with a woman saying, “good luck, babe.”Īnother Huggies ad featured a group of dads not changing their babies’ diapers while watching an entire game through “double overtime.”Īngry dads and moms responded with complaints, saying fathers aren’t incompetent parents who leave their kids in dirty diapers.Ĭhris Routly took it a step further, creating a petition on. In a sign of their growing power, dads out to end the stereotype recently scored a knockout blow against a pair of TV ads.Ī Huggies ad earlier this year said the company put its diapers “to the toughest test imaginable: dads, alone with their babies, in one house, for five days.” Repeat., he calls them “Madison Avenue’s go-to guy.”ĭuring every commercial break, he says, he and his wife “try to see who can be the first one to spot the idiot husband or father.” David Holland, father of three, rails against “doofus dads” in ads.
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