Father’s Day, too, deserves a reckoning. For years, it’s been a celebration of dad-joke mugs, BBQ aprons, and slapstick stereotypes. But what would it look like if brands treated Father’s Day not as a punchline, but as a call to show up? What if it became a platform to recognize and expand modern fatherhood, to push past outdated tropes and into a more honest and equal future?

There’s early evidence that this evolution in parental appreciation day marketing is gaining momentum. Brands like Dove Men+Care have championed paternity leave and Indian detergent Ariel highlighted dads confronting patriarchy through hands-on parenting. Others, like DoorDash, have used humor to surface hard truths that ask dads to do more. These moments hint at a future where marketing isn’t just reflective, but reformative.

Brands make human truths visible. And they have the power to normalize a new kind of parental celebration—one where motherhood isn’t synonymous with martyrdom and where fatherhood isn’t defined by lawn care and grill tools.

So as we cycle through another season of tributes and tie displays, let’s ask better questions. Not, “What should we get Mom?” but, “Why is she still getting called first?” Not, “What makes a good dad?” but, “What does celebrating fatherhood look like beyond corny jokes?” Brands have the opportunity to ask these questions through marketing, starting with Father’s Day, to paint a more aspirational vision of equitable parenting.