http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLzIb5Soug

My post about tv commercials that demean men in general and fathers in particular isn’t the entire story. While the sheer numbers of doofus dad/man smart wife/girlfriend ads are overwhelming and definitely represent a cliche in the ad industry, there are some advertisers and ad agencies that still recognize that men care about their families too, take care of their kids, and do important things. This Chevy heavy duty pickup track ad hits all three of those notes. It starts with guy getting behind the wheel of a Silverado HD and start towing a piece of construction equipment through hill and dale, then pulling up in front of building, getting out, opening the back door, reaching in and picking up what we see for the first time, his sleeping child and then carrying him/her into what we see as the camera pulls back is a child care center. Comedian and actor Tim Allen does the voiceover with the tag line: “The things you carry are more important than the things you haul”. With all the criticism GM gets, at least they got this one right.

In reality, the 1960s vintage Goodyear ad with the husband concerned about his wife being safe while driving is of a piece with this ad and with the “so much is riding on your tires” Michelin ads, like the one below. It, by the way, is for high performance tires and uses sports car noises on the soundtrack. The Michelin ad isn’t as overtly appealing to men but generally performance tires are indeed marketed in media venues with a high male demographic.

When he’s not busy doing custom machine embroidery, Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth and contributes to The Truth About Cars and Left Lane News