For eons, it seems, advertisers have focused on moms as the primary shoppers in their households. Influencing them was always job No. 1. For good reason. At the same time, dads have either been portrayed as clueless in a gently ribbing manner; or they’re just plain invisible. Of course, advertisers seem to have taken a cue from sitcoms, where dads are sometimes more sharply portrayed as buffoons for laughs.

Do dads like this? No. I can personally vouch for that! In fact, men are complaining more openly about consumer product ads as they hit the stores in record numbers. So, now things are changing and dads may be getting the last laugh.

In recent research conducted by Yahoo and Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi X, it appears men are more likely to be the primary shoppers in their families now. Yahoo interviewed 2,400 American men between the ages of 18 and 64 in 2010, more than half of whom stated they did most of the grocery shopping in their homes.

According to Publicis Groupe’s chief strategy officer, Mariana Sanchez, their data shows 35% of men shop for groceries and mass merchandise. All of this published on Wal-Mart’s blog recently, citing an article on the topic published in Ad Age.

If men are one-third of total shoppers or more, they can no longer be ignored by advertisers. Nor can they be treated as buffoons. Especially since men tend to become more brand loyal and less influenced by sales and promotions as a lure away from the specific brands they purchase. Men don’t care to be treated as buffoons either.

But has the ad industry caught up to all of this? Apparently, some companies think they’re making headway here because they involve themselves in marketing in conjunction with the NFL. Cool, but we’ve got a long way to go, baby.

So, let me ask Daily Fix readers: How do you feel about advertising where men are concerned: beer, tires, car, motor oil, Just for Men hair coloring, and Old Spice ads excepted?

• Can you think of ads that do a great job of targeting men---in any category---not just grocery?



• Which companies continue to make men look clueless in their ads? Or fail to address them at all?



• Does consumer product advertising bother you when it’s clearly one-sided? Or takes jabs at half the population?