Given the number of media fathers who are portrayed as bumbling fools (funny, but still idiots), it’s about time a marketing company gave us a different model.
Some female watchers don’t appreciate the Cheerios ad. In an article in Salon, writer Hayley Krischer complains that portraying dad as the “cool one” leaves mom to be the “lame one.” She thinks this dad is irresponsible: allowing his kids to jump on the bed, feeding them sugar cereal and ignoring all of the things the “uptight mom” will have to take care of later.
I disagree. There’s nothing in the video that paints the mom in a negative light. She seems pretty comfortable with everything that’s happening around her. Besides, if you listen carefully, the man’s speech actually blasts that theory to bits, as practically every line in the commercial can be classified under one or more of the three Sigma Roles (Protector, Provider, Presider).
Some of my favorite Sigma-worthy lines:
- We do work-work and we do home-work (Provider and Presider)
- We lead by example; we blow their minds. (Presider)
- Being awesome isn’t about breaking rules; it’s about making them. (Presider)
- Hot stuff coming through – wife and the coffee. (Protector)
- Suggestion: That’s a boy, that’s a man. (Protector and Presider)
- When a rule’s broken, we’re the enforcement. (Presider)
- But when a heart is broken, we’re the re-enforcement. (Protector)
- And we wouldn’t have it any other way, because being a dad is awesome. (Protector, Provider and Presider)
Not only do I find this commercial refreshing but I believe it’s about more than just being the stereotypical “cool dad."
What do you think?
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Dr. John Alexander is relationship expert and the author of The Sigma Male: What Women Really Want. To learn how the Sigma Roles can improve your relationship, visit his website, subscribe to his blog, “like” his page on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter.
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