Mr. mom no more : the rise of the male caregiver and his implications on the marketing landscape

The population of male primary caregivers in the United States has risen dramatically within the past decade. Accompanying this trend is the evolution of fathers and their impact in the home. The modern dad is more involved in parenting and housework than in previous generations. Despite fathers’ growing role in the home, current depictions of dads on TV merely perpetuate the portrayal of dads as blundering and incompetent. Analysis of current depictions of mothers and fathers in TV ads and shows reveals the gap between today’s parenting reality and pop culture’s rendering of reality. Further exploration into the shifting parenting landscape and notions of masculinity yields a population of fathers who not only welcome increased responsibility at home, but also act as thought leaders and influencers in the parenting realm. By committing to the development of accurate and balanced depictions of dads on TV, marketers have the opportunity to harness this growing population’s influence and gain vocal and technologically savvy brand advocates.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Advertising

Grantor

The University of Texas at Austin

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Allen, Sarah Katlyn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dudo, Anthony

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Close, Angeline

• Fathers
• Male caregivers
• Brand advocates
• Dads in commercials
• Moms in commercials
• Moms and dads on television

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/2152/19929

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/19929