“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” These are the humorous and wise words of Mark Twain.
That is why, when we announce that Father’s Day is only 7 sleeps to go, the news is met with a polite yawn or a more belligerent, “What’s the big deal!”
Tim Russert said, again with a touch of humour, “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” We are all guilty of taking our fathers and mothers for granted in one way or another.
That’s why Dads4Kids wants to make a big deal out of dads on Father’s Day this coming Sunday, 1st September 2024. Watch our brand-new latest Father’s Day Community Service TV ad below.
What did you think of our TV CSA this year? It is essentially ordinary people from 18 to 78 years of age, spanning six decades, talking about their Dads.
The process of getting people to share on the TV ad was self-selecting. The people who chose to give their time for free to talk about their Dad on screen had pretty good memories of their father.
The questions were simple, like, “Tell us something your dad used to tell you. What was your favourite memory of your father, and what was your dad like?” Needless to say, the response from this broad demographic of men and women was very heartfelt and moving.
Many people broke down in tears of appreciation and joy when they talked about their father.
One woman talked about how her father walked her down the aisle almost 50 years ago. Her tears told the story.
Another man broke down sobbing, overcome with emotion such was the positive power of recalling his experience with his father’s love and care for him.
Yet, some people have the hide to say that Dads don’t matter.
Dads set the course of their children’s futures. All the stats show this to be the case. Dad’s love and nurture can create a great future for his children. Sadly, fatherlessness creates chaos for children.
Our mission at Dads4Kids is to help men become great fathers so they can see their children thrive. See the 30-second version of the ad below!
Many times, the producer and the cameraman were in tears listening to people’s stories.
Nat and I well know the emotion involved in creating the TV CSAs for Father’s Day. We have done the directing and camera work ourselves for the last 20 years. Every year, we were often brought to tears and laughter as people, especially children, told us about their dads and how much they love them.
In 2022, one of the children brought the house down in our Dads4Kids TV CSA when he told us with a straight face, “My dad can run very fast, faster than Flash.” In saying that, he put a smile on the faces of millions of Australian families, including many other children.
Last year, the production team did a great job on both our Dads4Kids TV ads and the Channel 9 documentary on the Men’s Leadership Summit. More info here.
So, this year, Nat and I decided to allow the same producer and cameraman from Pineapple Media Australia to capture the story for this year’s Father’s Day TV ads.
Both the producer and cameraman are fathers, and both were deeply challenged by hearing people’s stories of how much their fathers mattered to them.
During conversation throughout a long day of filming, these two Dads shared the things they were doing right, the things they were doing wrong and how they could do it better.
Lovework
Both men agreed with the wise words of Reed Markham, “Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” Together, these two fathers made the decision to be better Dads than they have been before. The good news is, we can do the same! There is always room for improvement. Have a great Father’s Day next Sunday.
All the Best for this coming Father’s Day,
Warwick Marsh
PS: At 11 a.m. on Saturday, 24 August 2024, at the Lions Club Beach Kiosk, in front of Glenelg Beach Surf Life Saving Club in Adelaide, South Australia, Chris Woods completed a marathon 120-day walk from Darwin to Adelaide. The purpose of the 3060 Kms was to raise money for Men’s Health & Wellbeing.
Chris contacted us four years ago with her idea to raise money for Men’s Health & Wellbeing by walking from Darwin to Adelaide. COVID-19 delayed her plans, but she did not give up. Chris Woods is raising money for the Black Dog Institute, Beyond Blue, Dads4Kids and the Tenterfield Lions Club.
Chris is 72 years young, so this is a massive effort and worthy of great commendation. Senator David Fawcett greeted her on behalf of the residents of South Australia. Chris Woods received a Dads4Kids Courage Award on the day. See her Facebook site here.
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Republished with thanks to Dads4Kids. Image courtesy of Adobe.
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