Father’s Day is coming up this weekend, and something has become rather evident over the last few days: this holiday isn’t marketed like the other parental celebration—Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day advertisements often tug on our heartstrings and market more luxurious gifts, such as jewelry and spa days, whereas Father’s Day ads seem to be more humorous or lighthearted and market more practical gifts, if any gifts at all. According to the content marketing company Outbrain, “Mother’s Day tends to have more of an emotional appeal while Father’s Day can be more practical and focused on the needs and wants of dads.” This is quite apparent when you look at the different advertisements for each holiday.
More than just the branding differences, consumers even treat the two, holidays differently. A study shows that people, on average, spend twice as much on Mother’s Day than they do onFather’s Day. In 2012, it was estimated that $14.6 billion would be spent on moms and $9.4 billion on dads. Just because Father’s Day was established 58 years after Mother’s Day, it doesn’t mean that dads should get the short end of the stick.