• by Kari Turner , July 9, 2025

Marketers have long portrayed men, especially dads, as dopey or incompetent in home life, boxing them into clichés like grill dads, sports guys, or as the comic relief. But that doesn’t reflect the full reality of who they are, how families function today, or how modern consumers behave.

Millennial fathers are far more involved in homemaking and caregiving than many marketers seem to think. These dads aren’t just providers -- they’re planners, influencers, creators, and decision-makers, playing an active, thoughtful role in how their families eat, spend, and live. Research confirms women also react more positively to ads that depict men as caring, capable fathers and partners.

Here are three essential ways to start deepening your connection with today’s dads:

Rethink the default shopper. Men are planning meals, buying groceries, and managing household routines. In fact, 28% more U.S. dads report grocery shopping now than in 2017, and 42% of men say they do most of the food shopping for their households. Half of dads now identify as “Shopping Cart Dads” -- regular, engaged food buyers -- while 80% of millennial dads prefer to shop with their kids, compared to 60% of millennial moms. In store, men prize efficiency rather than exploration.

Show real fatherhood. When brands reflect what modern fatherhood looks like, it resonates -- not just with dads, but with entire families. Partners, kids, relatives all live with real dads who don’t match the advertising characterizations. Give them portrayals they recognize, and they’ll tune in. For example, Hyundai’s “Internet Dad” depicts a father cooking his daughters breakfast while humorously trying to engage them using Gen Z slang. It taps into the playful, everyday ways that dads try to connect with their kids -- even if it's a shared appreciation for their capacity for cringe. 

Google Pixel’s “Dream Job” flips the typical narrative of dad as a side gig. Rather than starting from the expected framing of "parenting versus career," it tells the story of fatherhood as the ultimate preparation for everything else -- including a big job interview. And the Ad Council’s “Self Love” features a single father opening up about his vulnerability, emotional growth, and the importance of taking care of himself in order to better show up for his child.  

Involve Dadfluencers. Online, dads are telling their own stories of raising kids, grocery shopping, and a broad array of the challenges of family life. One giant step toward inclusive storytelling is to involve someone with a compelling narrative and committed following. There are plenty to choose from, and they appeal to both sexes (a lot of male followers are introduced by female partners). To start, familiarize yourself with #DadLife, which has over 26 million views on TikTok and averages 102 posts/hour on Instagram. Then look at Dadfluencers Tyler Moore (Tidy Dad) and Glen Henry (Beleaf in Fatherhood) on Instagram and Youtube.

As dads chart new territory, they open a huge branding and commerce channel. The opportunity is transformational for brands that can listen; they’ll outmaneuver competitors who are stuck in tired tropes. 

 

@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Aptos; panose-1:2 11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 3 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:8.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Aptos; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Aptos; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-ligatures:standardcontextual; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Aptos; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Aptos; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-ligatures:standardcontextual; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:8.0pt; line-height:115%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}