Last week I was traveling alone, setting up some final affairs for our family’s upcoming Trip Around the World. I ended the week at the Minneapolis airport, where, while waiting to board my plane home, I saw a 15-second commercial featuring a dad and his daughter riding on a train.
I was really missing my own daughters after a week away from them, and this short spot really got to me. I didn’t get a real good look at the content of the ad, so I wanted to watch it again. Fortunately, because we live in a time when such things are possible, I was able to look it up on my phone.
Turns out this Extra gum origami commercial, developed by Chicago-based advertising agency Energy BBDO, first hit the airwaves almost a year ago. There are three versions of it (15 seconds, 30 seconds, and 60 seconds), and as nice as the 15-second version is, the full 60-second version is really quite wonderful.
I continue to be encouraged by ads like these that portray dads not as buffoons, but as important figures in the lives and development of their children. It’s great when dadvertising is done right.
