Do you ever wonder why sitcom scenes with a dad and his kids involve a laugh track? Or notice a tone in advertising that positions men barely holding down the fort while the wife’s away?

Despite global research indicating that men today prioritize fatherhood and caregiving and ascribe to a more caring definition of masculinity than previous generations, they’re still overlooked in pop culture. With 3 out of 5 dads saying media makes light of what it means to be a father, clearly the way dads see their role is different from how they are portrayed.

This past Father’s Day, Dove Men+Care set out to change the stereotypical dialogue around fatherhood. The cornerstone of our effort was a film featuring genuine emotional caregiving moments from real dads’ lives, when their child “Calls for Dad.” The PR strategy broke new ground with research that revealed how men today prioritize being a caring parent, and how this is contradicted in pop culture. Our data informed film development and sparked genuine conversation and editorial about modern fatherhood across every media genre.

The response was overwhelming—real men told us that we understood dads. ‘Calls for Dad’ helped solidify Dove Men+Care as the fastest growing men’s grooming brand in the US (July 2014). PR helped drive 36 million film views and data-filled media coverage that prompted a different discourse about dads. Originally a US campaign, “Calls For Dad” was ultimately launched in new markets and aired in the 2015 Super Bowl.

PR prioritized owning the week-long media conversation before Father’s Day, beginning the Monday prior. Starting with an NBC strategic strike, our film/research debuted on ‘TODAY’ with Unilever’s VP Marketing and Boston College Center for Work and Family’s Dr. Harrington. We timed this to air with a White House Summit discussing dads’ importance, ensuring we were folded into substantial national conversations.

We strategically put fatherhood influencers first, ensuring real dads were central in content and PR. Blogger Jim Higley appeared on ‘The View’ discussing the rise of dad blogs and men’s experiences caring for children, with our work featured throughout.

Each traditional media placement was widely shared by the network of influencers we’d given a “first-look” at our film. This led to pulses of digital buzz, sustaining campaign coverage through Father’s Day weekend to the month after.

The film’s success inspired unexpected expansion into a 2015 Super Bowl ad.

‘Calls For Dad’ was viewed 36 million times, recognized as YouTube’s #1 video to “restore faith in humanity,” and took top spots with Ad Age and AdWeek’s viral charts.

The campaign generated 800 million media impressions with prominent key messages resonating through in coverage, transcending typical ‘PR articles’ and sparking debate about fatherhood, which positioned Dove Men+Care as leading a positive shift in attitudes about dads: e.g., “Dove Redefines Dad’” (Mashable), “Do modern dads get enough credit?” (CNN) and: “corrective to outmoded ideas of the father as a distant, aloof domestic presence” (The New Yorker).

Positive consumer campaign response led to 159% growth in social engagement for June, and globally, 10 Unilever markets embraced the campaign in their countries. The program helped solidify the brand as the fastest growing men’s grooming brand in the U.S., and ultimately we decided to air “Calls for Dad” during the 2015 Super Bowl.