Grey New York launched a Father’s Day effort advising those searching for advice on the internet to “Go Ask Dad” instead, with WPP’s Catalyst and Possible handling search and digital marketing.
Paid search ads tied to “how to” questions like how to tie a tie, ask a girl on a date, fry an egg or shave redirect to the video, “This Father’s Day, Go Ask Dad.” The spot opens with the observation that “94 percent of teenagers ask the internet for advice before their dads,” before a series of fathers tell the camera, in different languages, about how their sons rarely ask for help, certainly seeking out their advice less than they did that of their own fathers. From here a group of teens are brought in, ask their questions on the internet and attempt to follow the advice before, apparently unbeknownst to them, their fathers show up to help them out. Surprise: father knows best (take that Google).
“One of the things we want to do is interrupt the search experience on Father’s Day,” Carlos De Jesus, North American Shave Care brand director for Gillette parent company P&G, told AdAge. “We’re going to be there for any of the how-to moments during that week. If you search how to shave, we’re going to be part of that. If you search how to change a tire or how to put on a tie, we’re going to be part of the conversation.”
It’s a sly approach for the brand, which is more popular with the parental generation. In other words, if you ask dad what kind of razor to buy he’s more likely to point to Gillette than, say, send you a link to Dollar Shave Club. Casual viewers, meanwhile, will just see a timely, memorable and emotional spot likely to resonate with dads. As part of the campaign, Gillette will also donate $50,000 to non-profit organization National Center for Fathering’s Watch D.O.G.S. program.