What dads want for Father's Day: Tools, TVs and ... cheese

It goes without saying that both Home Depot and Lowe's - already positioned as Dad's dream emporiums - are offering plenty of promotions, both online and in stores. And in the hardware department, Sears' Craftsman has also outdone itself.

Special spots, set to the theme song of The Courtship of Eddie's Father, show a Dad and son built entirely out of Craftsmen wrenches, with "the power to tighten any bond." With a US$35 Craftsman purchase, shoppers can purchase a US$9.99 "Doodle Box," a classic red Craftsman toolbox that comes with stickers, so kids can customise it for Dad. The promotion also includes posters, t-shirts and online give-aways, including wallpaper and avatars.

Sears is covering its bases, offering an alternative for the unhandy, too: A Men's Dockers Father's Day event, wherein customers will receive a US$75 gas gift card when they spend US$100 on Men's Dockers merchandise. A drawing for a Toyota Prius is also part of the promotion.

Some gift promotions are less expected. Amazon, for example, is appealing to egg-headed Dads, offering free one-day shipping for those who buy its Kindle electronic reader. Moreover, Whole Foods Markets is recommending that shoppers buy Dad cheese - specifically, fine Norwegian Jarlsberg. (The variety isn't quite as random as it seems - Whole Foods recently welcomed Jarlsberg, now minus a questionable preservative, back on its shelves.)

However, what most Dads want, at least according to Circuit City, is electronics. The company recently released a survey of more than 4,100 fathers, which finds that 52% of dads prefer electronics for their big day - much more than those who want clothing (16%), sports gear (13%), or a vacation (9%). Moreover, it turns out that "You shouldn't have!" is phoney: Only 8% of dads surveyed didn't want a gift.

The US Census Bureau estimates that there are 64.3 million fathers in the US; 30.2 million have children younger than 18.

Article courtesy of MediaPost