Dove Men+Care’s new Father’s Day initiative challenges men to add their most important role to their professional profiles.

Picture this: You’re scrolling through LinkedIn, checking out career updates and professional achievements, when you stumble across someone’s profile that lists “Dad” as their current position. Not as a side note or hobby, but right there alongside CEO, Marketing Director, or Software Engineer.

Sound unusual? Dove Men+Care hopes it won’t be for much longer.

The men’s grooming brand has launched a bold Father’s Day campaign encouraging Canadian dads to literally make “Dad” a job title on LinkedIn, using the platform’s “Add position” feature to showcase fatherhood alongside their professional accomplishments. It’s a simple concept with a powerful message: being a dad deserves the same visibility and recognition as any career milestone.

Breaking the Mold of Masculine Success

“Too often, men proudly share promotions, but rarely the presence and care they bring at home,” explained Divya Singh, General Manager, Personal Care, Unilever Canada. The campaign aims to spark a broader conversation about redefining success to include care and celebrating the powerful role fathers play beyond the workplace.

This isn’t just about updating social media profiles—it’s about challenging deeply rooted ideas about masculinity and what “having it all” really means for men. While women have long been encouraged to balance career and family life openly, men often compartmentalize these roles, keeping their professional and personal lives strictly separate.

The campaign features several prominent Canadian thought leaders who are sharing their own fatherhood stories alongside custom illustrations by Toronto-based artist Mateusz Napieralski. The participants include:

• Ross Simmonds, Founder/CEO known for his marketing expertise
• Donnovan Bennett, respected sports commentator
• Dave Rocco, celebrity chef and TV host
• Shawn Kanungo, innovation strategist and bestselling author, recognized as one of the world’s most sought-after voices on innovation and generative AI
• James R.C. Smith – me

The Mental Health Connection

What makes this campaign particularly timely is the growing recognition of how fatherhood impacts men’s mental health. Dr. Andrew Howlett, a Toronto-based Child and Family Psychiatrist and co-founder of the Fathers’ Mental Health Network, provided expert insight for the campaign.

“When men see fatherhood as a vital part of who they are, it positively shapes their mental health and emotional well-being,” Dr. Howlett explained in the press release. “By valuing and supporting active fatherhood, we help dads feel recognized and empowered – building resilient families and healthier communities.”

Research backs this up. According to data from Dr. Howlett’s work, “the rate of depression in early fatherhood is 10 per cent – twice the general rate of depression in men”. The stigma around mental health tends to impact men more severely than women, largely due to societal expectations about male strength and emotional expression.

A Partnership Rooted in Research

The campaign wouldn’t be complete without the backing of Dad Central, a national organization that provides research, programming, resources, and a community to support father involvement. The organization has been grateful for the generous sponsorship of Dove Men+Care, which has helped amplify its impact on fathers and families.

Since 2020, Dad Central has partnered with Dove Men+Care to promote involved fatherhood across Canada, impacting over 150,000 dads through the delivery of free fatherhood resources and training. This isn’t just a marketing partnership—it’s a collaboration rooted in genuine research about what fathers truly need and want.

Research shows that involved dads improve their children’s overall cognitive, emotional, and social well-being, boys have fewer behavioural problems, and girls have fewer psychological problems when they have involved dads, and children who live with their dads do better in school.

More Than Just a Campaign

This LinkedIn initiative builds on Dove Men+Care’s decade-plus commitment to championing modern fatherhood. The brand has consistently created campaigns celebrating the caring role of father figures, including stepfathers, foster fathers, godfathers, brothers, coaches, friends, teachers, and mentors.

Previous campaigns have tackled everything from paternity leave advocacy to supporting new dads with care packages distributed to hospitals across the country. The brand has been recognized as a leader in positive ‘dadvertising’ by taking their campaigns beyond celebration to actual advocacy and support.

Why This Matters Now

The timing of this campaign reflects broader cultural shifts happening around masculinity and fatherhood. Modern research shows that fathers want to be involved but often lack the confidence, skills, and resources to do so. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, typically reserved for professional networking, become powerful tools for normalizing involved fatherhood when men start claiming space for their parenting roles.

The campaign also addresses a practical reality: many dads struggle to balance professional advancement with family involvement. By encouraging men to showcase both roles equally, the initiative helps normalize the idea that caring for children is just as valuable and demanding as any career achievement.

Taking Action

For Canadian dads interested in participating, the process is straightforward: simply add “Dad” as a position on your LinkedIn profile using the platform’s standard job entry feature. Participants are encouraged to share custom illustrations provided by the campaign and tell their own fatherhood stories.

The campaign runs nationally, leading up to Father’s Day, building momentum for a broader conversation about what it means to be a successful man in 2025. In a world where professional achievements often overshadow personal ones, this simple act of adding “Dad” to a LinkedIn profile becomes a quiet revolution—one profile update at a time.

As Dr. Howlett’s research suggests, when men embrace fatherhood as a central part of their identity rather than a side role, everyone benefits: the dads themselves, their children, their families, and ultimately, society as a whole.