• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 25, 2015

If you haven't yet noticed, Dads appear to be a major theme brands and agencies are going with for their Super Bowl ads. Toyota has launched #OneBoldChoice, Dove has launched #RealStrength and Nissan has launched #WithDad. While each approach is a bit different, the theme is decidedly all about Dad.

Of the direction Nissan took, the brand's SVP of Sales and Marketing Fred Diaz said the direction had nothing to do with the latest NFL domestic violence situation saying, "Nothing with the NFL had any part of our decision in any way. We started concepting a year ago, and essentially we wanted somehow or another to build a brand spot that resonated and connected with America. That was the direction I gave the marketing team and the agency: Find a spot, find a story. Find something that connects us and makes us far more relevant with the American public today that shows we truly understand them."

And of the campaign's similarities to Toyota and Dove, Diaz added, "I've seen a lot of their [Toyota's] footage that's been released and we're in such different spaces on this, other than the fact that we both are approaching the dad-fatherhood theme. It's purely coincidental. But you've got to make people laugh or cry. [Toyota's theme] won't detract or be synergistic for us. It certainly could help promote the notion, in our case, that things are better when Dad is involved."

How nicely said .