The American government didn’t officially recognize Father’s Day until 1972.
Mother’s Day, by contrast, became an official US holiday in 1914—which means Father’s Day marketing has had 58 years of catching up to do.
The disparity between the two holidays isn’t just abstract, either. Data from LendingTree reveals that 62% of Americans spend more on Mother’s Day than Father’s Day. Only 9% spend more on Father’s Day.
But times are changing, and consumer buying habits are coming along for the ride.
Our ideas of fatherhood—and masculinity—have expanded beyond the traditional role of breadwinner and passive “babysitter” of their own children. In Bigeye’s Gender: Beyond the Binary study, 79% of cisgender male parents agreed that they’re seeing “more men portrayed positively as active, involved fathers in advertisements and commercials these days.”
If your brand is focused on a father-identifying customer demographic or your products aren’t gender-specific, you may have an opportunity to rethink how you’ve tackled Father’s Day marketing in the past.
Here are 12 sources of inspiration to help you reimagine your Father’s Day marketing:
1. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams offers an easy way to opt out
Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day may be a holiday that stirs up feelings of loss and distress. That means Father’s Day marketing communications may be triggering for some of your audience.
A Father’s Day opt-out marketing campaign empowers you to recognize difficult emotions and acknowledge people as, well, people—not just potential sources of revenue for your brand.
To make up for anyone who may have missed their opt-out email, scratch-made ice cream company Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams offers another option to opt out directly with this sign-up form.
This is a novel way of using a sign-up form to collect email addresses specifically for a suppression list. While demonstrating empathy, the brand also gathers high-quality data about their subscribers that can inform future campaigns—a win-win on both sides.
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: When you want to engage customers while they’re on your website, you need to make sure your form shows up where they’re browsing and at the right moment. Use AI to optimize the timing of your forms by running automatic tests and setting the winning version live.
2. Function of Beauty shifts perspective on gendered gifts
If your brand sells products you think wouldn’t typically suit dads, we challenge you to change that line of thinking.
In this Father’s Day marketing example, hair care brand Function of Beauty acknowledges that hair goals know no gender.
Self-care can be just as important for dads as it is for moms. Function of Beauty wants readers to give the gift of glossy locks this Father’s Day. The special men in their lives will appreciate it—and so will their split ends.
Subject line: Let’s Celebrate Dad! Last chance to get 10% Off
Source: Function of Beauty
Father’s Day marketing idea: Segment your audience using data from your ecommerce platform or support conversations to find your customers who have sent gifts before (even specifically those who have bought gifts in May or June).
Then, send that audience tailored suggestions for Father’s Day gifts, like products that do well with father figures based on trends from review sentiment analysis. Include reviews that speak to how dads are using the suggested products.
3. Pair of Thieves earns attention with an unconventional email layout
Dad wardrobes may be a different story, but dad jokes can endure across generations.
Loungewear and undergarments brand Pair of Thieves uses their Father’s Day marketing campaign to lovingly poke fun at dads and their attempts to stay cool. With a clever email design that mimics a text conversation between a typical child and their typical father, the funny copy draws the reader in just ahead of the CTA below.
Subject line: You Are Not Dad’s Favorite 🥈…yet
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: Don’t just mimic a conversation. Start one. Launch a Father’s Day-specific WhatsApp campaign that invites customers to respond, tap, and browse directly in the conversation. Include one-tap options inside your messages, like “Still need a gift for dad?” with buttons for “Yes, send me the link” to direct shoppers to your Father’s Day collection, or “Not this time.”
4. Daily Harvest relies on humor to hook readers
Like Pair of Thieves, clean food brand Daily Harvest puts the jokes front and center and uses humor as a hook in this Father’s Day marketing example.
The lighthearted copy sparks readers’ interest, while the clear “shop for dad” call to action (CTA) encourages them to shop for products and gift sets curated specifically for the special day.
Subject line: Win Father’s Day
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: Humor won’t land the same way with every audience, so it’s worth figuring out whether a playful tone actually drives engagement for your brand. Use AI to generate copy in different voices and tones—punny, sentimental, straightforward—then run A/B tests to see which tone resonates most with your subscribers.
5. Tecovas honors a real employee’s fathers
At a time when consumers are more and more skeptical of generic, AI-generated content (aka “AI slop”), real stories stand out.
Boot and leather goods brand Tecovas leans into that with a Father's Day gift guide built around an actual employee's relationship with her dad. The email features Tecovas employee Erin Housewright’s story about her father, Ken Carnathan, and shows vintage family photos.
This Father’s Day marketing example reads more like a personal tribute than a marketing email, and by the time you scroll down to the “Ken Approved” product picks, the boots and belts and hats feel less like a catalog and more like recommendations from someone who actually knows the guy (because in this case, they literally grew up with him).
Subject line: Meet the Dads of Tecovas
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: A special campaign like this one works because of the human element, but sourcing employee stories, curating personal picks, and putting it all together takes time.
Give your team more bandwidth to invest in this kind of authentic editorial content by using an AI marketing agent for the day-to-day stuff. Trained on your storefront and customer data, an AI marketing agent can generate launch-ready campaigns, flows, and forms on your behalf, so you have more time for brainstorming and delivering the kind of messaging that truly makes your brand stand out.
6. Dollar Shave Club uses tiered pricing to capture every budget
Not every Father’s Day shopper has the same budget.
Grooming brand Dollar Shave Club’s Father’s Day marketing campaign tackles this reality head-on by showcasing 3 electric trimmer options at different price points, with a 20% off promotion front and center.
By presenting multiple options rather than pushing a single hero product, Dollar Shave Club appeals to different audiences and dads’ specific needs.
Subject line: 20% Off Electric Grooming!
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: Make the most of your tiered pricing by using predictive analytics like predicted average order value (AOV) and predicted customer lifetime value (LTV) to branch your Father's Day flows based on each customer's spending potential. Promote premium products to VIP customers with a high AOV or predicted LTV, and offer bundle incentives or free shipping to lower-spend customers.
7. NueBar celebrates dads of all kinds
As more shoppers become conscious consumers—people who make purchasing decisions based on positive social, economic, or environmental impact—a brand’s commitment to plastic-free products may be the deciding factor in a customer’s potential Father’s Day purchase.
Hair care brand NueBar injects their Father’s Day marketing campaign with a dose of environmental sustainability. This eco-friendly brand advertises that celebrating dads can also mean good things for the planet.
NueBar also recognizes that all dads are different. The Father’s Day products they highlight here cater to a diversity of hair types and soap preferences, which widens the pool of subscribers who may shop with the brand.
Subject line: 15% OFF Father’s Day Starter Packs. 10% OFF Gift Cards
Source: Nuebar
Father’s Day marketing idea: Shoppers may have detailed questions before buying, like “What’s your packaging made from?” or “What materials is this made out of?” Use an AI customer agent that pulls from your help center and product catalog to answer customers’ questions, then recommend specific products with links to buy within the conversation.
8. Love Grown considers your chosen family
Father’s Day marketing runs the risk of defaulting to a narrow idea of “dad,” but clean food company Love Grown (now part of Hive Brands) acknowledges that you may be buying for your “dad by birth, dad by choice, fatherly friend, or resident bad joke teller.”
It’s a small move that goes a long way. In one sentence, the email widens the audience for the entire campaign and makes a classic dad joke dig at the same time. Then, Love Grown gets down to business, showcasing their products using clever wordplay and beautiful, clear images thoughtfully spaced out in the email.
It’s easy for the reader to digest quickly, see what might appeal to the father figure in their life, and get to the CTA button at the bottom.
Subject line: Did you hear about our Father’s Day collection?
Preview text: It’s pretty “pop”-ular
Source: Klaviyo Showcase/Love Grown (Hive Brands)
Father’s Day marketing idea: If your Father's Day email is speaking to a wide range of gift-givers, you need to make sure the products you feature aren’t lumped together for one universal, generic audience.
Add AI product recommendation blocks to your email template—like each individual’s likely "next best product”—to automatically surface the items each recipient is most likely to buy, based on their purchase history and browsing behavior. Instead of showing every customer the same product grid, each person sees a version tailored to them.
9. Natural Pigments rescues the procrastinators via text message
No matter how early you start promoting, some shoppers will always wait until the last minute. In those cases, text messaging may be the best channel to catch them.
Natural Pigments specializes in supplying rare and hard-to-find artists’ materials. They also know that children—even adult children—aren’t always the best at getting gifts for their parents on time. In this Father’s Day marketing example, they meet their last-minute customers where they are, with a well-timed text message 3 days before Father’s Day.
Natural Pigments keeps it short and sweet, here, alerting subscribers to their gift guide. They also suggest a gift card—an instant gift when it’s sent electronically.
Source: Klaviyo Showcase/Natural Pigments
Father’s Day marketing idea: Although last-minute shoppers need urgent reminders, leading with the wrong channel can mean missed sales. Use AI-powered channel affinity to find out which channel—email, SMS, WhatsApp, or push—is most likely to drive engagement for each customer based on how they’ve interacted with your messages in the past.
10. Cometeer invests in beautiful imagery
Your copy can be perfect and your offer can be irresistible, but if your email looks like it was designed in 2014, people will probably scroll past it.
Coffee brand Cometeer’s Father’s Day marketing campaign has a lot to admire: a succinct headline, a CTA button above the fold, and short, smart copy. But the visuals are particularly stunning—they use sharp, modern photography and original, visually appealing backgrounds that exude high-end dreams and aspirations.
People who love coffee really love coffee. The folks at Cometeer definitely know this, and they also know how to make their audience feel seen and satisfied. This email holds the reader’s attention all the way to the second CTA button at the bottom and makes them want to see more.
Subject line: A Father's Day Winner
Source: Really Good Emails
Father’s Day marketing idea: If you don’t have the budget for a Cometeer-level photoshoot, an AI photo editor can help you get close. Use it to swap out a plain white background for something more elevated, add seasonal styling, or give flat product shots more depth and dimension.
11. New West KnifeWorks offers a free gift for Dad
When your products are premium-priced, a blanket discount can cheapen your brand. A free gift with a high purchase threshold is a smarter play—it rewards big spenders without slashing your margins.
Premium knife brand New West KnifeWorks does exactly that in this Father’s Day marketing example, offering a free kitchen essential with purchases over $400. The email leads with a single hero product and strong, benefit-driven copy before introducing the free gift offer. This structure sells the product on its own merits first, then sweetens the deal for anyone who needs that final push.
Subject line: A Knife That Shows You Put Some Thought Into It
Source: Milled
Father’s Day marketing idea: A free gift offer like this doesn't have to go to your entire list. Your most loyal, high-spending customers might not need the free gift to convert because they already love your brand. But for a lapsed customer who hasn't purchased in over a year, that free gift offer could be what brings them back. Use recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) analysis to target your incentives more strategically.
12. Skwosh pushes you to buy for the kids, too
In this Father’s Day marketing example, Skwosh, an Australian resort-wear brand, speaks to people who may want to get Dad a gift he can open “from the kids.” In this case, Skwosh shows you how to get Dad and the little one matching bathing suits. It’s a smart up-sell strategy.
Subject line: 📦 Let’s take a load off with FREE express shipping
Preview text: Guaranteed Good Times On Time ⏰ Hurry! Only available for the next 24Hrs
Source: Klaviyo Showcase
Father’s Day marketing idea: Skwosh includes a smart up-sell in their email, but you can use this strategy on-site while customers are shopping, too. Offer a personalized customer portal where you can highlight recommended products that pair well with what shoppers have purchased before, and let customers save items to their favorites for later.
Build omnichannel Father’s Day campaigns from a single platform with Klaviyo
Klaviyo is the AI-powered B2C CRM that combines data and analytics with autonomous marketing and customer service, helping you prepare for Father’s Day with:
- K:AI (Klaviyo AI) agents: Prompt K:AI Marketing Agent to generate new Father’s Day content ideas and on-brand messaging, and adapt past successful campaigns for the holiday. K:AI Customer Agent, meanwhile, can answer customer questions and build confidence among shoppers.
- Klaviyo Customer Hub: In this self-serve portal, customers can keep track of everything related to their gift for dad.
- Omnichannel marketing: Create multi-segment, seasonal campaigns across WhatsApp, email, text messaging, and push notifications, all from one place.
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