Dad jokes have tended to feature in Father’s Day greetings in societies that are only just beginning to understand and prioritise the input of dads into children’s lives. Ad Council’s #Dadication has been working to accelerate the shift to father involvement. “It’s just like dedication but it means that as a father, you never stop being a dad. There’s no one right way as long as you show up for your kids, even when it’s not so easy,” it explained.

This Father’s Day, Ad Council has launched a new series of PSAs that support and encourage responsible fatherhood. The first-person stories of parenting firsts and dads overcoming parenting challenges aim to inspire dads to be active in their children’s lives. The stories demonstrate that a father’s presence is more important than being perfect.

The campaign was developed pro-bono by advertising agency, Campbell Ewald, and built on research that curated insights from real dads, especially new and young dads between the ages of 16 to 24, and insights from both full-time and part-time or non-custodial fathers. The videos are running in donated time and space across the US in broadcast and online video, radio, print, and out-of-home. All PSA materials drive audiences to Fatherhood.gov to find tips and resources for dads.

Since 2013, the campaign has received over $370 million in donated media value, resulting in over 29.2 billion audience impressions across the country.