Coterie Takes the Mental Load Debate Into Golf Advertising

By Priya Raman

Coterie’s engagement rose about 300% from September to October, with largely positive sentiment, while the diaper and wipes brand put parental mental labor at the center of a golf campaign. The business goal was blunt: reach fathers, not only mothers.

About 90% of Coterie subscribers are women, as are more than 90% of its social media followers, said Brittany Deems, Coterie’s vice president of brand marketing.

With that audience mix, Coterie found a useful contradiction at Golf Digest. Magazine representatives said its readership overindexes among dads and parents with children in diapers. Deems also considers golf the sport most strongly associated with dads.

The PSA-style campaign stars Max Homa, a six-time PGA Tour winner who already used Coterie products before the partnership. Its text-only print ad on Golf Digest’s back cover begins, “You never see diaper ads in golf magazines.” It challenges the “status quo” of treating mothers as the default parent and ends, “This is for the dads who can help us change things—diapers included.”

Why did Coterie choose golf?

The idea began in a Coterie Slack channel, where a creative director argued that the team should discuss mental load with dads, not only moms. Deems said the campaign was not a response to Good Good Golf’s controversial ad earlier this year.

The golf retailer and media company’s spot showed its male co-founder shoving a female creator to the ground, prompting debate about how far golf has progressed on inclusion. The sport has spent years pushing inclusivity and attracting a younger crowd, though setbacks remain.

Deems said the timing nevertheless made Coterie’s message more relevant. The campaign aims to raise awareness that mothers still perform most cognitive household labor while expanding the brand’s reach among dads of young children.

Deems said: “We didn’t think of this as a reaction in any way, but we thought of it as a way to justify the importance of talking to men, and in a way that really supports women. It was really [about] doing our part in how we can shift that narrative.”

How is Coterie reaching dads?

Coterie looked at brands buying full-page New York Times ads and asked which audience it actually needed. Its answer was to show up where dads were and reach a new demographic. Deems described the tactic as attacking the algorithm, which she said successfully brought men into the fold.

Alongside the print ad, Coterie is sharing social content featuring Homa. A giveaway includes:

• A $1,000 spa gift card
• Merchandise signed by Homa
• Diapers

To enter, users must follow Coterie, like the post and tag a dad.

Deems has not yet analyzed follower growth among men, so the 300% figure measures engagement rather than audience growth. Sentiment has been largely positive so far.

What comes after golf?

Coterie remains early in sports marketing, but golf builds on a format it tested after the New York Knicks won the NBA championship in June. Coterie placed out-of-home ads outside subway stations along the parade route.

The ads cited a study that found “major sporting events are associated with increased birth rates nine months later.” They read, “See you in ’27, Knicks babies.” Coterie was not alone: Huggies had also run sports-focused ads with a procreation angle.

Deems called golf a natural progression of the Knicks work, with the broader goal of earning a place in sports conversations and fitting the brand into them.

Further sports marketing is on Coterie’s 2027 radar. The brand is already working with former Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Isaac Rochell on its current campaign. Deems is looking for ways to speak beyond moms, potentially through more sports work.

Deems said: “If we’re only advertising to women as it’s their responsibility to restock the diapers, that’s on us, too.” Coterie is trying to earn its place in the sports conversation. The next useful number is male follower growth.