[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_BfTr4ShMs[/youtube]
Subaru of America recently debuted a new TV advertisement for its Forester model SUV that caught the eye of Fathers & Families member Bill Perry. For anyone who has not seen the almost 30-second spot, it features a little boy and his dad on the way to, and then home from a “pinewood derby” race, in which kids build and race wooden cars on a short wooden track. The ad highlights the hard work of the little boy who has built a simple little car and the father’s gentle reassurances of, “Do your best. Build a car you’re proud of.” Well, it turns out that simple little car ends up winning the race against much slicker opposition, and as the dad drives the victorious son home in their Subaru Forester, the advertisement concludes with the statement, “Isn’t it nice when honest virtues win?” To view the advertisement, click on the picture above or here.
Bill was so touched by the ad that he composed an email to the car company complimenting the people there on the ad and thanking them for “jogging [his] memory” of an earlier time, when he encouraged his son to build a similar toy car–though that car did not win the race. He wrote, “..the wonderful memory I have from the experience is a winner, as your ad with the Father and son is.” Shortly after sending off that email, he received a kind note in return, signed by Nancy Quinn of Subaru of America, Inc.’s Customer Dealer Services unit, stating how happy she was to learn that Bill was enjoying the commercial and promising to send Bill’s kind comments on to the marketing department, who likes to receive such positive responses from customers.
Having conducted a campaign against anti-dad advertising in the recent past, Fathers & Families appreciates having the opportunity to applaud ads like this one that celebrate relationships betwen fathers and sons. The Subaru spot is a clever one, as it does not show whether or not the dad lives with his son. It does not tackle whether or not the boy’s parents are together or any other issues that might be going on in the world outside. It doesn’t have to. The relationship between this dad and his son is clearly an important one, and one that will create memories that last a lifetime for them both.
Thanks to Bill Perry for the heads-up on this terrific ad, and for sharing the heartwarming story that went with it!