• by Larissa Faw , June 15, 2015

On average, Americans spend $7.4 billion less on Father’s Day gifts than they spend on Mother’s Day. In fact, 30% of children don’t even call their dads on Father’s Day. 

Now Toyota and its agency Saatchi LA are launching a new campaign that highlights how some dads get slighted on their big day, with an opportunity for kids to make up for their thoughtlessness. 

“We were excited to hear that we really got Americans to think about their dads during this year’s Super Bowl,” said Jack Hollis, group vice president of marketing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., referring to the so-called “dadvertising” bandwagon that a number of marketers jumped on for spots during the Super Bowl this year. “What better way to continue that connection than by starting a timely, new conversation on Father’s Day.” 

A main element of the new campaign is an online video titled “Father’s Day Redo.” Last month the agency asked people what they got their dad for Father’s Day last year or their plans for this year. Many admitted to giving cliche gifts they put little thought into, while several others confessed to giving no gift at all. 

Then, Toyota and Saatchi LA selected one respondent, Phil Eastman, and brought him home to his Wyoming town to surprise his dad. They documented the trip on film, from taking off in a plane to delivering him home in a Camry. 

In addition to the digital content, Toyota is temporarily erecting an "I (Heart) Dad” monument that stands 15 feet tall and 30 feet long on the Santa Monica Beach Pier in Southern California. To encourage conversation across social media, Toyota also installed Instaprint, a technology that allows visitors to instantly print their Instagram photos on-site by adding #OneBoldChoice.  

Essentially, the campaign builds on Toyota’s continued efforts to "draw awareness around the importance of fostering close connections with dads everywhere across the country." A Toyota spot in the Super Bowl, for instance, showed a dad taking his daughter to the airport to join the military.  

Toyota is continuing to run 30-second versions of its two Super Bowl spots throughout June on broadcast and cable TV including "CBS This Morning," "The Tonight Show," "Castle" and "Modern Family."