Question of the Week: Children of adland describe their fathers’ roles

A child’s brutal honesty cuts both ways. While their matter-of-fact responses to questions are endearing, they can also leave parents hilariously exposed.For Campaign’s Question of the Week series — and in honor of Father’s Day — working fathers of adland shared what their children think they do for a living.Similar to the responses gathered for Mother’s Day, the agency world’s tiny talent was brutally honest. While some toddlers were “unavailable for comment,” other children described their fathers’ roles with complete and total accuracy, noting their coffee habits, typing tendencies and loud calls while working from home.Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.Complete accuracyBrad Scott, cofounder and principal, Applied Design“My son thought I worked for the Department of Sanitation because we did the branding and industrial design for the waste receptacle in Central Park in New York City. He was a little disappointed when he realized that I only work at a design studio.”Chris Plating, chief strategy officer, EP+CoPlating’s 10-year-old, Hattie, said her father “eats candy from the candy bowl and tells jokes that somehow help solve problems for the people you work with.”“My daughter has huge faith in me,” Plating told Campaign.Doug Murphy, creative director, Hatch Murphy’s 8-year-old son said his father makes ice cream for a living.In reality, “I came home from a commercial shoot with a lot of leftover ice cream one time,” Murphy said.Brock Kirby, cofounder and ECD, KDSP“You used to know Kobe [Bryant],” said Teddy, Kirby’s 13-year-old. “Then, I don’t know.”Kirby’s 11-year-old, Iris, replied with, “You mostly drink coffee, get on calls and talk really loud and do weird voices and then drink more coffee.”Scott Moody, senior director, communications strategy, The Variable“I asked my one kid and all she texted me back was ‘commercials,’ which is wrong for 10 different reasons. But, it’s probably easier than explaining earned media,” Moody said.No commentBryan Redington, SVP and general counsel, Innocean USACal, Redington’s 19-month-old, replied only with “trash truck.”Dan Lescarbeau, VP, marketing, Iris North AmericaUnfortunately, Lescarbeau said his 6-month-old, Louie, was “unavailable for comment, beyond a few milk-fueled grunts and laughs.”Jeff Dryer, cofounder and ECD, KDSPDryer’s 5-year-old, Joanna, made no attempt to hide her disdain for her father’s career path.“You make commercials? The things that come on when we have to watch TV in hotels? I hate those,” she said.Eli Haddow, associate director, marketing, PetermayerWhen Haddow asked his son, August, what he does for work, August responded with, “Dada?”“To be fair, he is 15 months old,” Haddow said.Not far offJosh Gross, CCO, BBDO Chicago“My girls (a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old) are pretty sure my work friends and I spend all day taking turns pretending to be the M&M’s’ spokescandies, coming up with funny stories and making each other laugh. Now that I think about it, they’re not that far off.”Anson Sowby, cofounder and CEO, BatterySowby’s son, Luke, said, “You work in advertising, you run the company and you make the ‘big boy’ moves.”Atit Shah, CCO, Digitas North America, told Campaign his children — a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old — have different explanations for what he does for work, depending on the day.“On generous days, they’ll say things like ‘you help brands find their identity’ and ‘you make ads and experiences,’” he explained. “On most days, my job is ‘talking in circles,’ ‘saying cringe things like ‘let’s make the pizza idea sexier,’’ ‘pacing on the phone and making lots of hand gestures’ and ‘hanging out with your team, many of whom apparently have interesting nicknames.’”Greg March, CEO, Noble PeopleMarch’s 17-year-old, Harry, said “he makes a lot of decisions [and] he does a lot of thinking. He pulled the business up from the earth, brainstorms a lot [and] keeps the business in check.”His 16-year-old, Julia, said “he comes to the office and he plays guitar, and he just hangs out.”Patrick Murray, VP, marketing, TalonMurray’s 5-year-old, Mikaela, first responded “meetings” before adding “working on [his] computer, having lunch and talking with [his] work friends.”“I can’t say that her description is entirely wrong,” Murray told Campaign.Alec Richardson, VP, business development, We Are RosieRichardson’s 3-year-old said he “talks really loud to his TVs.”“The joy of working from home in the summertime,” Richardson told Campaign. “I appreciate the self awareness that I am too loud on conference calls.”Tip-tapping awayChris Rose, executive director, growth, Cylndr StudiosRose’s 6-year-old, Leo, said his father “sends text messages. He always says we can’t skip [commercials] because they pay his taxes, or something? He’s on his computer, typing on the keyboard and on the phone. A lot.”Sean Lynam, senior account director, Good AppleLynam’s six-year-old, Van, mimicked typing quickly on a keyboard.Jeremy Wisecup, art director, Gravity GlobalWisecup’s 3-year-old said, “He sits and pecks at these little buttons all day, then tells me, ‘Don’t touch it. I have to save the file first.’”Kurt Stadelman, VP, talent, PearpopStadelman’s toddler replied that his father “does ‘tippity-taps’ with his fingers and talks to people on the little TV.”“He turns 3 in August, so that’s all we can get out of him,” Stadelman told Campaign. “[He’s] pretty accurate though.”What’s most importantMatt Smith, partner, Charts+DartsSmith’s 4-year-old, Sully, said, “You make shows and little movies to buy this house, motorcycles, food and toys.”Graham Douglas, cofounder and CEO, GusDouglas’s 6-year-old, Johnny, said his father “makes ads, does calendars and makes football players sometimes. And sometimes, he says ‘hello’ to dogs on the street.”“Dad does work at work. Busy work,” said Gray, Douglas’ 4-year-old. “And important calls. And he gets me cookies.”Joey Chowaiki, cofounder and CCO, Open Influence“I don’t know,” Chowaiki’s 5-year-old said. “You bring me back presents every time you go to work in Italy and New York, and I love the olive oil.”Chris Furse, chief client officer, VML“My dad makes the ads that interrupt the Knicks games,” said Teddy, Furse’s 13-year-old. “But, he gets us cool sneakers for making the ads, so I’m not complaining.”Furse’s 10-year-old, Hudson, simply stated that his father “makes ads on the TV screen for people to look at and buy sneakers.”