Spike TV’s Catchy Father’s Day Promotion

Network Promotes True Dads Outreach Program

By Jason Braff -- Multichannel News, 6/14/2007 1:56:00 PM

Spike TV plans to celebrate Father’s Day this year, but there’s a catch. New York Yankees legend Don Mattingly was named the spokesman for the network's Catch-On promotion, which will kick off this Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17.

The promotion encourages fathers to go out and have a catch with their son or daughter.  Dads are then directed to visit spiketruedads.com to send in a picture showing off their time with their kids and enter for a chance to win a pair of season tickets for their favorite sports team.

The Catch On promotion, which will run through Labor Day, is the first campaign promotion for True Dads, Spike TV’s new national-outreach campaign. True Dads is designed to celebrate “the unique and transformative relationship that is fatherhood.”

A new national survey on fatherhood held by Spike TV found revealing information about today’s father. Among its findings: Fathers today are more likely to seek parenting advice from their mothers and wives rather than their own fathers or other men. The network’s study, run by Insight Research Group, reveals that there is a shift regarding to roles that men play in parenting.

“We found that there were limited data relating to fatherhood, and results of our study were a real ‘wow’ moment for us,” Spike TV general manager Kevin Kay said in a prepared statement.

Part of the survey included asking the current fathers about parenting and to compare themselves with their own fathers; the results were intriguing. For instance, 89% of today’s fathers feel comfortable showing their children affection, while the same was true about 34% of their fathers. And 74% say they often act as a shoulder for their kids to cry on, while 26% felt their fathers would do the same.

Spike TV ran the study to improve their efforts to understand its male viewers. “The breath and scope of this study illuminates the truths and myths surrounding today’s dads, and how dads are adjusting to their new roles,” Kay said.

Spike TV’s True Dads is a multiplatform campaign that includes public-service announcements featuring celebrities and everyday dads, original programming and local community-outreach events, among other promotions.