Mumbai: According to a report in “Fathers and Their Impact on Children’s Well-Being” from Psychology Today, children who have an involved father right from their birth are more likely to be emotionally secure, confident about exploring their surroundings, and, as they grow older, better social connections. In a country of 1.3 billion, every Indian father wishes their child to grow up in a manner that adheres to the platitudes mentioned above.
Indian society, since centuries, has had stringent gender roles when it comes to parenting – keeping the mother as the nurturer, the caretaker and the time-spender while the father has been the provider and the bread-winner. While patriarchs may simply state the ‘time is money’ adage to develop the rhetoric of “since I make the money, why do I need to give the time?”, ‘time is money’ isn’t how a child, who neither fully understands the concept of time nor money, sees it. What’s also unfortunate is courtesy this conditioning, generations of fathers have subliminally considered it unnecessary, and themselves incapable, of having an involved, intimate everyday relationship with their children.
Patriarchs may have developed umpteen sociological roles for one another but biology and child-psychiatry haven’t agreed. It has been proven beyond doubt that an everyday, involved relationship between the father and the child goes a long way in everything – from character building and social connections to emotional resilience for the child. But millions of young, new-born Indian fathers today are making this come alive by supporting their spouses and making that ‘idealistic’ parenting equation a reality. Through this, they are discovering a side to themselves that they never knew existed. A side that ‘shows’ love when it’s felt, a side that spends time instead of just money, a side that doesn’t hold emotions back… ushering a change in the Indian social fabric.
For such a relationship to flourish, these dads choose to do it all for their children – right from braiding their hair and changing their diapers to singing them lullabies and finding a work-life balance to spend more time with them, every day. And it’s this cause of Progressive Dads that Flipkart has chosen to celebrate in their latest 360-degree brand campaign: #PenguinDad.
The Male Emperor Penguin, interestingly, is considered one of the ‘best dads’ in the animal kingdom. The penguin child, actually is one of the few species on Earth, that is raised equally by both mother and father, who take turns going into the sea to catch fish so that one is always with the child. Flipkart’s campaign takes a leaf out of the Emperor Penguin’s habits to recognize fathers in our own little human world, who’ve kick-started their journey as a #PenguinDad.
The campaign, conceptualized by Dentsu Webchutney, a Dentsu Aegis Network agency, launched with a musical directed by National Award-winning director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari. It is set to be followed up by multiple digital first initiatives to champion the community of ‘Penguin Dads’ even further. Watch the musical here:
“The idea of fathers doing more for their kids isn’t new… but now, these dads have an identity… they’re Penguin Dads. As a father, a customer and a custodian of brand Flipkart, celebrating these dads, we’re hoping, will inspire many more to be like them,” says Prashant Gopalakrishnan, VP, Dentsu Webchutney.
“As society evolves and becomes more progressive, dads will play a more crucial role. This, to me, is a film that celebrates those who choose to label themselves as a ‘parent’ before labelling themselves as a ‘Dad’, and the power of that change in mind-set can change society and nation at large,” says PG Aditiya, Senior Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney.
“Indians today are breaking old moulds, challenging stereotypes and breaking limiting beliefs to move forward as a nation. In the last 10 years, we at Flipkart have also been part of the movement to build a progressive India. In this journey, walking along side progressive moms are today’s dads and our recent campaign is a celebration of these new age #PenguinDads”, said Shoumyan Biswas, Vice President, Marketing, Flipkart.
