Odd Couples

Let me tell you about the time a book I wrote got a guy arrested, and how it relates to the Family Friendly Programming Forum. He was a noncustodial divorced dad playing with his kids in his backyard. A couple of cops burst through the bushes, cuffed him and dragged him away. His ex-wife had accused him of trying to kill her, but he had been set up by her psycho brother. (I am not making this up.) The brother eventually copped to the crime and did the time. At first, though, the police thought the father was the bad guy, and they grilled him over what, to them, seemed like strange behavior for an ex-husband. Real creepy stuff, like being considerate and cordial to his ex. And he said I told him to do it. Well, not in person. The guy had read my book, Good Men, about how to be a good divorced dad. Much of what the cops quizzed him about involved things I had suggested in the book that men try—and that he had followed to the letter. I wasn't surprised that this poor guy appeared suspicious because he didn't act like a jerk to his ex-wife or ignore his kids. That attitude was why I wrote the book in the first place. But the story doesn't just illustrate a cultural blind spot. It might point marketers and, ahem, "content providers" down a new path. I recently attended the taping of the annual Family Television Awards show, put on by the Family Friendly Programming Forum. The winners were all over the lot in terms of family type: Malcolm's mom won, but so did a Gilmore girl. Different parents, different families, but one link: They love their kids and take parenting seriously. Aside from an inexplicable pick like Survivor, the awards offer a useful take on what makes a good parent. The key is that the kids get love and guidance, no matter the distribution channel. So why not try something really revolutionary: show divorced parents working (gasp!) together? We have no shortage of programs about single and divorced parents, but the custodial ex is invariably a saint and the noncustodial spouse either absent or a total schmuck. What we don't see are divorced people trying to do right by their kids—working together, even if they hate each other's guts (which is likely, trust me), to raise healthy kids who don't do their comparison shopping at gun shows. There are a million divorces in this country every year involving children, and my experience is that most of them involve good men and women who have made an exceptionally painful decision to split but remain committed to their obligations as parents. But we don't see them in advertising, TV or the movies. And that's too bad, because a slice-of-life Tide spot about how to get your kid's football jersey clean while simultaneously negotiating with your ex over the cost of this summer's day camp might motivate me to buy the brand. A sitcom in which a noncustodial dad takes over for a custodial mom for a few days and almost destroys her house (which can happen, trust me) could be funny and maybe even instructive. It's up to the forum, 'cause I can't help anymore. Good Men, alas, is no longer in print.

Brand Marketing

Odd Couples

Jack Feuer

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Jack Feuer