THE PRINCESS DRESS (2013)
This commercial opens with what appears to be a stereotypical little girl dressed in a princess dress, but as it continues we see that this commercial does not feed into your typical stereotypes. Unlike the "dad mom," the stay-at-home dad in this commercial does not over glorify his housework. Instead he simply talks about it with no reference to gender or the fact that he isn't the mom but he's still doing laundry.
But is this really an progressive message?
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Created two years after the "dad mom" campaign, this ad is a much more effective, and much less absurd, attempt at appealing to dads. Although appearing stereotypical at first, with a little girl in a princess dress, it is clear almost immediately that is not the case. She is not just a typical, perfect little girl, but is really portrayed as much more of a tomboy. Like her father, she is not playing into gender stereotypes, and he accepts that about her. He never questions wether she wants to be a princess or a sheriff, only focusing on what matters to him, that she is messy no matter what she's wearing, hence Tide. The fact that the dad never mentions the fact that he, unlike mom, is doing the laundry, or congratulates himself for his "hard" work, or overcompensates for the lack of traditional masculinity in his housework speaks volumes. There is no question of the father's masculinity just because he is doing his daughter's laundry or even just for playing with her. It also breaks away from the stereotype of the anti-domestic father figure who is unable to do the most basic of family related tasks by making the dad completely competent in his abilities to take care of his daughter and run his household. This ad is a much more successful version of Tide's "dad mom," because it portrays a much more realistic scenario, while also consciously breaking free of traditional gender roles. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the fact that while it may seem like Tide is making important social progressions in their advertising, their main goal is not to modernize household organization, but rather to sell to those who already have.