Dove Men + Care - Congrats it’s a Dad

Background

In 2019, Dove Men+Care introduced the Pledge for Paternity Leave, a program designed to drive legislative change, offer immediate support for dads in need, and build a community of advocates and supporters of paid parental leave.

a damning statistic

In the U.S., only 13% of fathers who take paternity leave received any payment from work. Damn.

Our opportunity

For new dads, the happiest day of their lives can also be the most stressful — with no paid leave, joy is met with financial fear. Dove Men+Care set out to change that.

CREATIVE idea

A new baby, a new dad, a new very live ad.

On Father’s Day 2023, Dove Men + Care celebrated with the newest fathers in America, in a 24-hour long campaign featuring UGC portraits of new dads.

As midnight struck at the beginning of Father’s Day, we partnered with families and specialist birthing photographers in hospitals across the US to capture dads coming face to face with their newborn babies. These visceral portraits of emotion and connection, caught as fathers embarked on a completely new journey of care, were immediately shared live on social as well and synchronized to 1,700 DOOH sites across New York City.

And as part of our continued fight for increased paternity rights for new fathers, every featured dad received a Dove Men+Care Paternity Grant, to make the first special moments of fatherhood last that little bit longer. When Father's Day ended so did our campaign, which saw 10 new fathers welcome 11 babies into the world and celebrated by a whole city.

Throughout the month, #CongratsItsADad content was shared across Dove Men+Care social channels and we partnered with content creators to share their own fatherhood stories.

Awards

2024 One Show Merit - Social Post / Real-time Response