Who: Unilever/Dove, Ogilvy, Mindshare (media), Spy Films (production) and Edelman (PR).
What: A new film for Dove Men + Care’s “#TakeTheTime” campaign, which encourages men to take paternity leave. Dove has adopted paternity leave as an important plank in the global positioning for its Dove Men + Care brand. The Canadian campaign launched March 17, timed to coincide with the debut of the new national five-week, “use-it-or-lose it” leave for non-birthing parents (mostly targeted at fathers).
When & Where: The new film was just published to YouTube, and is the first element of a new wave of creative leading up to Father’s Day. The campaign launched in March with out-of-home, PR and influencer communications.
How: The new film is six minutes of new dads being in love with their kids. There’s lots of cuteness here, but it delivers an important message about paternity leave and social stereotypes. Shot by director Tamir Moscovici, it follows five fathers for five weeks, spending time with their young child and talking about how grateful they are to have that time with them.
Why: Dove’s positioning is that “care is the best of a man and that when men have an expanded opportunity to care, there is a positive impact on them and society.” It fits nicely into the conversation about the need for more progressive attitudes about gender roles. However, there is lots of evidence that it is still more acceptable for mothers to take parental leave. This film—and the larger campaign—is all about removing the stigma surrounding men taking time off work to be with their young children.
Survey says… Immediately after the new Canadian parental leave rules came into effect, Unilever conducted an informal survey about attitudes towards paternity leave. Among some of the findings released last week: 24% of respondents agreed with the statement “Paternity leave? No, bonding is for weekends.” And 33% agreed that fathers are the ones to pay bills for their families. The good news: 92% disagreed with the statement “Paternity leave is for wimps” (the bad news is that 8% agreed with it).
Quote: “With Canada’s new parental leave policies, we think it’s an important moment to encourage Canadians to take the time to change the conversation around parental leave. The results demonstrate that, while the image of fatherhood is evolving, there’s still a lot of work to do to make paternity leave stigmas a thing of the past.” —Leslie Golts, marketing lead at Unilever for Dove Brand & Skin Cleansing Category.
