"Go Ask Dad" Campaign Melts Hearts On Dads’ Day

Just in time for Fathers Day, Procter & Gamble has come up with a "Go Ask Dad" Campaign that hasn’t just gone viral, it’s gone right to the heart of more than 2M users. It features awkward teenaged boys facing important rights of passage—how to ask a girl out, tie a tie, fry an egg, and of course, shave.

These days, when an estimated 94% of kids ask the Internet before they’d ever ask their dads, P&G shows that these kids all agree that the lessons are far better when they come from their fathers for a few very good reasons. The approach is personalized, and their fathers know, love and understand them.

The methodology: Computer vs Dad

In this two-minute spot, the sons enter a room, one at a time, and are asked to look up some things on the internet using a tablet. When the boys try to follow the internet instructions, the results are dismal. Then the boys are urged to ask their dads the same questions. “See how I do it?” one dad says as he shows how to tie a tie. “There you go,” says another dad. “Your first shave.”

There are expressions of thanks and love, smiles, hugs and tears. The commercial closes with the written words: “This Father’s Day, go ask dad”, followed by the company’s powerful tagline: “Gillette. The best a man can get.”

Search engine optimization (SEO) is helping drive views

When anyone searches with keywords such as “How To Tie a Tie,” P&G is redirecting them to the “Go Ask Dad” video in an effort to promote Gillette razors. The ad was posted on YouTube on June 6, and by June 11, it had received 2,609,016 views.

An overarching theme: the value of the father-son connection

According to P&G’s North American shave care brand director for Gillette. “Our hope is that this campaign will serve as a reminder of the value of the father and son connection and encourage sons to reach out to their dads.” Of course, P&G also hopes that grateful sons will give their dads a Gillette Fusion ProShield razor and a year-long subscription to the Gillette Shave Club as a Father’s Day gift in return for the valuable life lessons.

Procter & Gamble, of course, is a smart retailer, and they’ve created a timeless ad that resonates across cultures. But there’s something else going on--they understand the importance of relationships. There isn’t a man out there who isn’t going to remember his own awkward adolescence. The mysteries of tying a tie, shaving and trying screw up the courage to ask a girl out. How his dad bought him his first razor and shared the secrets of shaving. That first razor may or may not have been a Gillette, but this ad is making a compelling case for buying one now.

There’s one more thing . . .

These days, really good marketing tells a story. It’s not enough to talk about that Gillette razor—even though it may be the company’s most advanced shave, with flexball technology, whatever the hell that is. As far as I’m concerned, all razors are the same. But I will remember this compelling story. A group of gawky teenage boys on the cusp of manhood, each being guided by the gentle hands of his father. This Father’s Day, Gillette’s sharing this story, hoping to make an emotional connection—that’s good marketing.

Are you struggling with your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and internet marketing experts.

HOPING YOUR POST WILL GO VIRAL? NOT SO FAST

Admit it. When you post a blog or social media post, you try to sex it up with a snappy subject line and a terrific image, hoping your post will go viral, reach a gazillion people and quickly bring you new fans. Everybody wants attention, more Likes, more comments and more page views.

But viral is temporal, there has to be some kind of shock value or it’s not going to achieve its goal. It’s a one-time thrill and it’s not sustainable. You can’t continue to produce at this level, so it really becomes meaningless. I’m thinking back to a few examples of posts that went viral.

• Snake in the toilet. One that got my attention a while back was the San Diego woman who flushed the toilet, looked back and found a 5-ft. boa constrictor emerging from the bowl. Anyone who’s afraid of snakes remembers this for the sheer horror of being alone in the bathroom with a deadly snake.
• Son shoots mother in the back. Yesterday a post that probably deserved to go viral was one about a Florida gun-rights activist whose 4-year old son shot her in the back with a loaded pistol. I suspect that the NRA, one of the strongest lobbies in Washington, won’t even bat an eye. We’ll forget this atrocity just as we forget the mass shootings in schools—until the next one.
• Puppy Monkey Baby. Remember the Puppy Monkey Baby ad from SuperBowl 50? Few even recall the product (Mountain Dew) it was promoting, but this amalgamated creature was just plain disturbing. Yet there have been more than 22 million views of the Puppy Monkey Baby commercial on Mountain Dew’s YouTube channel, most of the user comments are negative and the sentiment isn’t positive. Mountain Dew likely doesn’t care—they’re banking on “any news is good news”.

Going viral isn’t a content strategy

Going viral shouldn’t be something you plan for, nor is it something that’s easily replicated for long-term success. Most viral content has a very short shelf life. It’s the darling of the internet for a few days, a week, maybe two, then it’s gone. Our audience, with painfully short memories, quickly moves on to the next shocking thing.

Instead of viral marketing, focus on quality content

A better approach: Creating long-lasting content strategies that help your audience connect with your products/services. Focus on creating great content that people will enjoy reading and find helpful. Be smart, funny, share a story, highlight a new product or person. If you create useful content that your readers/fans/followers want to read, you’ll have achieved content marketing success.

Are you struggling with your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.