Stereotypes In Gillette's Go Ask Dad

Many teenagers are awestruck with technology, and frequently turn to it before their own fathers. For Father’s Day, Gillette released an ad entitled “Go Ask Dad.” The video opened with a statistic: 94% of teenagers ask the Internet for advice before their dads. From there, the video showed different fathers speaking in various languages about their experiences as fathers. They said it was “a challenge,” that their kids get “lost in technology.” The fathers also said their kids don’t come to them for advice as often as they had gone to their own dads as children. The set is a basic room with gray walls, a sink and mirror, an oven, and some cabinets. There is also a table with a tablet on it. Male children walk into the room, and are instructed to look some things up on the Internet. They are shown struggling as they try to tie a tie, to shave, to ask a girl out, and …show more content…
They were also relatively mundane and would be considered easy if one was showed how to do it. The scenes where the sons were shown floundering to perform the tasks were meant to be humorous; they were also intended to make the viewer feel sympathy as they would have likely struggled with those tasks at some point as well. The fathers stepped in, and the kids instantly looked relieved; this was meant to show the reliance kids have on their fathers, as well as the bond they share. The fathers rectified the issues their children were facing in mere seconds because they were looked to as wise and knowledgeable. The words used included the casual term “dad” instead of “father,” and positive encouragement while the fathers were teaching the sons, such as “that’s pretty good.” The facial expressions were happy throughout the video. The color scheme was mainly dark colors, likely meant to appeal to men because it wasn’t overwhelming; also, the blue featured in the video’s background coordinated with the Gillette