For A&E’s new show surrounding the modern-day stay-at-home mom, designated by the network as the “modern dad,” A&E approached Man Made Music for a modern rock song to serve in promos as well as its opening titles, channeling the days-old dilemma of battling masculinity while changing diapers and getting those pigtails just right.

To achieve this, Man Made Music created the rock theme song to “Modern Dads,” which premiered last night, featuring a heavy beat and guitar track, to “go big, make a strong statement and not blend in,” according to Man Made Music’s founder, Joel Beckerman.

​After the full service music branding company created 12 different pieces, they settled on a rock ‘n’ roll theme with some southern feel and a hip hop beat. “We wanted to make sure the music felt authentic. We wanted it to feel modern to reflect the story,” said Beckerman. “They’re out of Texas, there ought to be a southern rock flavor to this. Using guitar-based rock to make it more modern, like The Black Keys or Jack White.”

According to him, “The challenge is that you only get 12-15 seconds to really give a sense of who they are, what these people are about.”

Throughout the promo itself, we are introduced to A&E’s real-life cast of dads: Stone (the single dad), Sean (the stepdad), Nathan (the new dad), and Rick (the veteran dad). Their first appearances are also reflected by the theme’s lyrics: “You can call me hey daddy, call me big pop.” The song also works in a rather clean explanation of the reality series, without feeling forced: “Mad skills, dad skills, mama’s out paying the bills.”

Man Made Music worked with episodic footage mostly in order to get a feel for the story and to fit the music to the show’s overall theme. This group of guys resembles the gang from “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” a fraternity, a man band, a guy group who takes the job a bit more seriously.

“The spin on this is how we define families has just changed dramatically. These guys aren’t so uncommon,” said Beckerman.

CREDITS:

EVP Marketing: Guy Slattery

Senior Creative Dir. Brand Creative: Maria Pecoraro

Exec. Producer, Brand Creative: Angelique Mais

Music: Man Made Music

Lyrics: McPaul Smith

Shot and produced by Big Smack

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