• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 16, 2015

Anyone wondering how Millennial Dads differ from older fathers can just stroll down the beauty aisle to find out: A new study from Young & Rubicam shows that fatherhood vaults Gen Y dads into a self-care frenzy, with 54% of dads saying they are regularly looking for innovative personal care products. (That compares with just 51% of single women, and 35% of men in general.) 

“This was the most surprising thing in the data to us, and a real curve ball,” says study author Kasi Bruno, SVP and strategic planning director at Y&R Toronto. “The cliché is that women let themselves go right after the baby, and here we have new dads with shopping habits that are more like women before having kids. And these guys are fussy. All-in-one products? Not okay! Low-cost products? Not okay! His standards for grooming go up after the baby arrives.”

Y&R’s “Who’s Your Daddy” study, which is based on responses from 8,000 fathers in the U.S. and Canada, which it claims is the most comprehensive on North American fathers, also finds that sexiness ranks high for younger dads, with sexuality ranking No. 6 on their top values, and confidence No. 10. Neither cracks the top 10 for men without kids. 

Apparently, Gen Y women are taking note. Bruno tells Marketing Daily that DILFs (please don't make us spell it out) are cropping up all over: The DILFs of Disneyland, aka the Happiest Place on Instagram, has more than a quarter million followers, for example.

In another surprise, she says the research finds that these dads are less frugal and more brand-conscious than moms. Some 59% won’t use coupons, because they think it makes them look cheap. (That compares with 37% of moms and 49% of men without kids.) 

“The basic finding is that dads are better for business,” she says. “They’re more brand loyal, they trust brands more, and they are looking for brands more than moms, who are more skeptical.”

And they’re big shoppers, with 80% of Gen Y dads saying they are either the primary grocery shopper or share that role, compared with 45% of fathers over 35. And 49% say they organize play dates and activities outside the home, versus 23% of older dads.

Dads also ranked their favorite brands, with U.S. dads picking Apple, UnderArmour, Nike, Netflix, and iPad as their top five. But when asked to name the brands they are most willing to pay more for, the list gets more surprising, she says, “and includes Victoria’s Secret and Lego.”

Overall, the findings show how enthusiastic these young dads are. “There is a totally new definition for a deadbeat dad. It used to mean someone who didn't pay his child support,” she says. “Now it’s someone who comes home and doesn't do anything to help.” As a result, she says they are big on the concept of Dadderday, a weekend day when they get to take over.

She says these Millennials wear fatherhood as a badge of pride, and as a result, they hate most of what they see in the media, “especially the dopey dads who are the butt of so many jokes in ads.” The one celebrity who rings true, she says, is comedian Louis CK. “They love that he gets it right sometimes, and gets it wrong sometimes — that’s very real to him. It’s messy, and that makes him a great pop-culture reference point.”