This past Father’s Day, Function Health launched Dear Dad, a campaign centered around one pivotal line: “Thanks for making me do it.” It’s a phrase we often say as adults, looking back at the parents who pushed us to do the hard things—ride a bike, study for the test, show up even when it was tough. But sometimes, that push comes full circle.
The campaign told the true story of a Function Health employee and her father. Through real, screen-recorded emails, text messages, and phone calls, we followed her updates about life's milestones—landing a new job, running a marathon—and her persistent encouragement for him to prioritize his health.
Then came the twist: her father finally listened. He got tested. The results revealed early-stage prostate cancer—a diagnosis caught in time for effective treatment.
Our goal was simple: to spark action. We wanted to show how a single push, a single conversation, can change everything. Because this wasn’t a marketing script—it was a real story, with real stakes, and a real life saved.
The Dear Dad campaign wasn’t polished or overly produced—it was raw, real, and relatable. We used screen recordings of texts, emails, and a phone call transcript to tell a story that felt like it could be anyone’s family. The line “Thanks for making me do it” became the emotional anchor, tapping into the universal push-and-pull of parent-child relationships.
The challenge? Breaking through the noise of glossy Father’s Day content with something that actually mattered. We leaned into authenticity over aesthetics, knowing that truth has its own gravity. And it did.
The simplicity of the execution—real exchanges, real emotions—let the story speak for itself. We followed the daughter’s journey from reluctant kid to determined adult, from being pushed to pushing back. And in doing so, we showed how health ownership isn’t just personal—it’s generational.
Ahead of Father’s Day, Function Health’s “Dear Dad” Instagram campaign went viral. The initial campaign video was shared widely on Instagram, garnering almost 176K views, 1K likes, approximately 90 comments, and reposted almost 340 times – reaching a total of 200K users on the social media platform.
The four subsequent Instagram campaign graphics reached over 1.12M total impressions and over 30.3K total engagements – with a total reach of over 1.19M.
The campaign resonated deeply as well as widely with Function Health’s audience, receiving comments such as:
This was more than a campaign—it was a mirror. It reminded people of the conversations they hadn’t had yet, the pushes they hadn’t made. And it showed them what was possible when they did.
