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Zach Rosenberg

Get To Know Zach Rosenberg!

Do you know Zach Rosenberg? I recently realized that I spend an awful lot of time talking about me and my family on this blog and wanted to get back to featuring the great works of some of my dad blogging counterparts. So, today, I wanted to just write a couple lines about my friend, Zach Rosenberg, who writes a blog called 8 Bit Dad. I have written about Zach Rosenberg and 8 Bit Dad in the past but have since become friends with Zach and Brian and wanted to share a couple of the cool things they have been up to since.

As big advocates for the equal portrayal of fathers in the media, Zach recently put together one of my favourite posts to date entitled, “Observations on Dad-Bias in 140 Commercials from 2013”, where he watched and scored 140 commercials that featured fathers. The research, and findings, were amazing and were even featured on Adage.com!

If you are looking for a fun site that is a strong advocate for fathers, I urge you to stop by 8 Bit Dad to check it out!

Dad Blogs Exposed! – 8BitDad

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the triumphant return of Dad Blogs Exposed! I’ve been on vacation the pat couple weeks and was too lazy and relaxed to pre-schedule any posts. The backlash I received was overwhelming (zero messages) so I’m rushing to get thinkgs back to normal!

This week I am going to introduce you to two of my favourite online characters! They are characters in many senses of the word but I’ll try to explain all that in this expose.

8BitDad is co-operated by Zach Rosenberg and Bryan Ferguson and they bill their site as “The Modern Parent’s Source For Real Fatherly Opinions”. It took me awhile to really sit down and take a look at their site but once I stepped into their world, I was completely hooked.

They tackle subjects from Human Rights to Dad issues from across the globe and are strong advocates for parental equality in advertising and media. Just recently, in a post entitled “Bad Dadvertising: Oscar Mayer And McGarryBowen” they took on the folks at Oscar Mayer for their string of commercials in which they made Dad look like a complete buffoon.

Zach and Bryan are about as real as it gets in that they will share their opinion with anyone, at any time, on any subject. That’s not to say they are bullies or jerks, they just don’t hide behind the invisibility cloak that is the internets. Actually, they are very respectful when presenting a counter argument, unless you really piss them off, haha. If these guys don’t like what you’re putting out there, you can bet you’ll be tagged in the next episode of their video show.

Speaking of that show, it’s pretty awesome. There aren’t a lot of other Dad bloggers making videos so they’ve made a bit of a side niche out of creating them. They general recap the week’s posts from their own blog and discuss other issues going on in the Dad Blogging community, which is great to hear about. As mentioned, the other cool thing is that if they mention you, good or bad, they will tag you on Twitter to let you know. At least it gives you the chance to present a rebuttal if you don’t like what’s being said.

I’ve included a video of one of their latest episodes for you to peek at. It’s about 50 minutes long so I don’t expect you to watch the whole thing, plus I’m sure the 8BitDad guys would appreciate a visit to their site if you’re going to watch. Just a quick warning for my readers, that their videos do contain explicit lyrics and should not be watched in the presence of young children.

Also, don’t be frightened by the pink robe, a Dude’s gotta be comfortable, right??

On a personal level, I have been interacting with the 8BD’s more and more frequently and now feel like their Canadian Ambassador. Seriously though, I’ve had nothing but awesome talks with these guys and they are as addicted to Twitter as I am, which is always nice. Other than mocking me for the Country I live in (like they should talk, haha), they have been nothing but respectful to me and for a new guy, I really appreciate that.

In closing, if Dad Blogging had Power Rankings like sports, Zach and Bryan would be climbing the charts quickly while flipping us all a double Shaka Brah!

I hope you’ll check out their site, 8BitDad and also take some time to follow them on Twitter @8BitDads and on Facebook. They also have a Zazzle store with some cool stuff in it, you can check that out Right Here!

That’s all for today’s Dad Blogs Exposed! I hope you enjoyed the feature and I’ll see you next week!

Cheers!

A Commercial Dads Can Be Proud Of

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note: I am NOT recommending you go out and buy a Google Nexus 7 here. In fact, I’m not even really sure what that is and most likely will never be able to afford one.

My reason for writing today is because of this great commercial I just watched for the Nexus 7. Ever since I have joined the wonderful world of Dad Blogging, I have had the opportunity to voice my opinion on certain subjects that I would normally have kept to myself. Or bored my wife with.

One of those topics is the poor representation of fatherhood by media, hollywood and corporations. Brands like Huggies and Oscar Mayer know what I’m talking about and they have also heard the backlash from the rising Dad Blogging community.

That’s why I found it refreshing to see an ad featuring a father and son doing something that father’s and son’s do. It didn’t have any gimmicks or crazy “Dumb Dad” moments. It was simply an excellent display of a parent enjoying time with his child and having a camp out in their backyard. Have a look for yourself:

Seriously amazing. I understand that it’s not an exact portrayal of everyone’s experience with their father but it was a mirror of my upbringing and also of the way that I am trying to raise my kids. On top of all that, it has given me a great new activity to try out with my son. We’ve been waiting for my daughter to get a little older before attempting the camping thing but this looks great in the meantime.

That’s really all I wanted to share with you today. I hope other brands will start to take notice and see what at least some of us consider to be powerful and effective marketing to Fathers and Parents alike.

For the record, I’m not crazy “boycott all non-dad friendly ads” guy, I just really detest the brands that make us Dads look like imbeciles to try and sell their product. I love Moms. I have one and there’s another one raising my children. They deserve everything they get and more. It’s just nice to see a company portray Dads in a positive parenting light for a change.

I also want to say Thanks to Bryan and Zach from 8 Bit Dad for bringing this one to my attention. I like to talk Dad here but these guys are “The modern parent’s source for fatherly opinion”! (You guys can pay me via PayPal (US Funds))!

I hope you all have a great day and thank you for your continued support!!

Cheers!