Facebook keeps recommending me the NatWest page, which is daft because I don’t bank there (better targeting required). But every time the ad comes up, I can’t help laughing at the cover image they’ve chosen. Check it out:
I think it’s meant to be an emotional dad at his daughter’s wedding, presumably facilitated by a hefty great loan from NatWest, but all I can think of is this:
With apologies to the NatWest Facebook team. Ha ha.
Every year, I start writing this post, get upset and abandon it. But since speaking to a fellow member of the Dead Dads Club who was having the same problem, I think it’s time I finished it.
Fathers’ Day is no doubt a lovely and enjoyable event for fathers and people with fathers everywhere. But there’s also a considerable group of people who have lost their dads, hate their dads, or otherwise just don’t want dad-dom shoved in their faces every year. This post is for those people.
Make Fathers’ Day disappear from your inbox
First, let’s get rid of all those emails desperate to flog you the very same thing they tried to sell you on Mothers’ Day, but with a weak dad twist.
I can only give instructions for Gmail because that’s the only service I use, but any one with filters should work similarly – try Googling ‘create filter <email service>’:
Then click ‘Create filter with this search >>’ and decide what you’d like to do with those messages. I set them to skip the inbox and auto-archive, but you could also choose to auto-delete. I prefer not to just in case an innocent email gets filtered and I need to find it.
Stop dead relatives popping up on Facebook
Mute Fathers’ Day chat on Twitter
Third-party apps allow you to ‘mute’ certain topics and keywords on Twitter, so you just don’t see them in your stream. Here are some options:
Again, just set up words you’d like to filter – I’d recommend father, fathers, father’s, fathers’, dad, dads, dad’s, dads’, daddy, daddies, daddys, daddy’s, daddies’, and daddys’ just to be on the safe side. You shouldn’t need to include ‘day’.
Real life
Of course, all this advice can also be applied to Mothers’ Day or anything else that pokes you in the heartstrings. And don’t listen to anyone who tells you to ‘get over it’ and ‘life doesn’t stop for you’ and all that bullshit. The fact is, if there’s a way to avoid seeing something that’s going to kick you in the feels, it’s completely fine to use it.
We’re all fragile in our own ways, and it’s OK to wrap yourself in cotton wool sometimes.
With thanks to Lorelei Mathias, @AJKandy, @Shell_568, @DrFidelius and @KidCircus
Tube and train station ‘wraps’ have enormous potential for creative applications, and it’s great to see one actually come to life. This joint effort between PHD, Applied Media, CBS Outdoor, and Kinetic has seen Oxford Circus kitted out in 1920s glamour to promote The Great Gatsby:
Images courtesy of Out of Home International
I would have liked to see the name of the station changed to East Egg as well, but it would probably confuse people.
Nonetheless, the wraps look amazing and can’t fail to get your attention. I hope they leave it there – Oxford Circus is a right shambles the rest of the time.
Dear Hyundai and your advertising agency, Innocean,
This is my dad.
His name is Geoff. He married my mum in the eighties and had two little girls, by all accounts the loves of his life.
This is the note he left when he committed suicide in his car:
And this is your new ad.
As an advertising creative, I would like to congratulate you on achieving the visceral reaction we all hope for. On prompting me to share it on my Twitter page and my blog. I would not like to congratulate you on making me cry for my dad.
When your ad started to play, and I saw the beautifully-shot scenes of taped-up car windows with exhaust feeding in, I began to shake. I shook so hard that I had to put down my drink before I spilt it. And then I started to cry. I remembered looking out of the window to see the police and ambulance, wondering what was happening. I remember mum sitting me down to explain that daddy had gone to sleep and would not be waking up, and no, he wouldn’t be able to take me to my friend’s birthday party next week. No, he couldn’t come back from heaven just for that day, but he would like to if he could. I remember finding out that he had died holding my sister’s soft toy rabbit in his lap.
Surprisingly, when I reached the conclusion of your video, where we see that the man has in fact not died thanks to Hyundai’s clean emissions, I did not stop crying. I did not suddenly feel that my tears were justified by your amusing message. I just felt empty. And sick. And I wanted my dad.
I understand better than most people the need to do something newsworthy, something talkable, even something outrageous to get those all-important viewing figures. What I don’t understand is why a group of strangers have just brought me to tears in order to sell me a car. Why I had to be reminded of the awful moment I knew I’d never see my dad again, and the moments since that he hasn’t been there. That birthday party. Results day. Graduation.
I’ve worked on automotive accounts. I actually worked on Honda for the best part of a year. And strangely, not once did it seem that the best way – the most intelligent way, the most creative way – to advertise their products to people was to remind them of the horrendous event that is suicide. Strangely enough, I could – and still can – think of a thousand more interesting, creative ideas that wouldn’t have left me feeling like I’ve just lost my dad all over again.
So I’d like to ask that next time you want to tell the world about a new innovation in car design, you think about it for a little bit longer. Think about me. Think about my dad. And the thousands of other suicide victims and the families they left behind.
My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I.
Yours,
Holly Brockwell.
I love this pop-up mailer by Leo Rosa Borges for Ikea.
I love it because it’s not just cool for the sake of it – there’s a real insight and benefit behind the pop-up idea. The message is that Ikea’s flatpack furniture is ridiculously easy to assemble, and the execution explains that beautifully.
There’s not a lot of love for DM these days, but you can’t tell me an email would have had the same effect.
These are the ad songs that have pissed me off the most over the years. I’m not including songs written specifically for the ad (eg. Go Compare).
Click at your peril and prepare to cover your lugs:
T-Mobile ‘Flext’ – ‘Just Another Diamond Day’
Just a blade of graaahhhhhsssss
Windows 8 – ‘Everything At Once’
Hnrrgh the dance moves are so twee, I hate youuu
O2 – ‘Little Boxes’
Just what the buggering hell is ‘ticky tacky’? Don’t answer that.
Apple – ’1 2 3 4′
Another one where the twinkly-dinklyness gives me a rage aneurysm
Orange – ‘This Side of the Blue’
You might not recognise this from the title, but believe me, you’ll remember it. The pseudo-baby voice makes me want to cauliflower my own ears.
And a bit of respite
It took me years to track down this ad, because it came out waaaay before the internet. The ad itself is weird as hell, but what a beautiful piece of music (specially adapted from a Bjork song):
Ahhhh. I feel better.
OK, your turn: post your suggestions in the comments. I hate you already.
This is a new anti-smoking ad from Latvia. 
The text means “September 11th, every day”.
Stay classy, dudes. Really.
