The other day, I was sitting in a bar in Nové Zamky, Slovakia, when an interesting ad came on the TV. The scene: Dad’s at home with his two daughters, who’ve gotten into Mom’s make-up kit and transformed their lily-white dresses into the kind of hideous rainbow garb you see on old Haight Street hippies. Unperturbed, Dad goes to the washer-dryer, but he’s skeptical when he sees the box of Ariel brand detergent.
So, what does he do? He calls his mother and asks her, “Yeah, will this really work on these tough stains?”
“Don’t worry, schmuck,” she says (I think).
He does the wash, the clothes come out clean, and his gorgeous wife arrives home just as his mother shows up to baby-sit while the happy couple go on a date. As they leave, Dad gives his mother a wink.
Now, I don’t really know much about Slovakian fatherhood, even after spending several days walking across the country, but I was sort of impressed, and it wasn’t just because the Zlaty Bazant had gone to my head. For one, the Dad wasn’t your typical American TV father, in over his head as he tries to do Mom’s job. No, he’s totally cool with the kids and is absolutely up for doing laundry—but he’s a little iffy on the power of the detergent. Understandable! Who knows what cheap crap Mom bought anyway? Not like she does laundry much anymore.
Plus, at the end of the spot, they go out on a date! (At least, that’s how I remember it.) He’s a guy who watches the kids (although not closely enough to keep them out of the makeup), does laundry, then takes his wife out. Or is she paying? Either way, he seems—they all seem—marvelously grown-up in a way you almost never see in America.
Which is why I’m switching to Ariel* brand detergent—the way a DadWagon dad keeps his kids clean.
(*This post not sponsored by anyone, unfortunately.)