Claire Beale on Advertising: Can you create a buzz around a sex toy without saying what it is?

Sex toy, pleasure enhancer, erotic stimulator, Rampant Rabbit. Call it what you will, it’s a vibrator, and we don’t like to talk about that sort of thing.

So, when the Dutch electronics giant Philips handed its ad agency DDB a brief for the launch of a new, ehem, intimate massager, there were a few dry throats in the room. It’s not often that ad agencies get the chance to tackle a sexual taboo for a mainstream audience. But if the painfully staid Philips could make the leap into creating a new product category they delicately call “relationship care”, then adland would happily follow.

And so it was that DDB came face to face with a brief for a new range of upmarket sex toys, the Philips Intimate Massagers. If the thought of an Intimate Massager brings a nervous flush to your cheek, this marketing strategy’s for you, because the whole campaign has been carefully conceived to remove the last shred of phnar, phnar from a market more usually dominated by rubber phalluses sold alongside crotchless knickers in the sort of shops your mother wouldn’t like.

Just in case you were in any doubt, the Philips press release politely prescribes the range for “couples aged 35+ in committed relationships”. And in case you were harbouring thoughts of earthquake orgasms, it specifies that it’s all about health and well- being: “The physical benefits of an active sexual relationship can include reducing stress and depression, boosting cardio health, countering prostate cancer and fighting ageing.”

Given all the obvious sensitivities (phnar, phnar), DDB’s press campaign, due to break this week, is a lovely solution. It shows an embracing couple rendered in contour lines, sensuous and scientific all at once. In one of the executions, the contour lines are raised in relief, giving the ad a beautiful tactility. Neil Dawson, DDB’s global creative director for Philips, says: “It was important for us to create an iconic visual that conveyed passion, intimacy, warmth and sensuality.” Without the titillation.

You’ll see the ads in mass media such as the weekend colour supplements and glossy upmarket monthlies. And you’ll notice that, although they’re light on copy, they make a clear point that the massagers are available on the high street, in Boots and Selfridges. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, honestly.

So, could we be about to see the sex-toy market go mainstream, stripped bare of stigma, pleasure for all?

Recent history suggests there’s a way to go yet. When Durex launched its Play range of sex toys back in 2004, it had a bumpy ride. News broke that Durex was talking to Boots about a distribution deal for Play, and the press coverage sparked an outcry among the retailer’s staff and customers. Boots backed out. The retailer now stocks Durex’s vibrating penis rings, and the entire Play range boasts annual sales of £32m, but the embarrassment factor remains, and for most sex toys, the main sales driver is now the web. So you can also buy your Philips Intimate Massager on Amazon.

And despite the lovely ads and sensitive marketing strategy, there are two big things that could hold Philips back in its bid to bring vibrators to the masses. First, the packaging. The Intimate Massager itself is a discreet pebble- shaped thing, but there’s nothing discreet about the box it comes in. You can only imagine the debates that went on about the pack design, but the resulting fudge is clear. The box has been given a sensuous purple colour scheme, but in a fit of propriety, they’ve covered it in a typical Philips sleeve that makes the whole thing look more nasal-hair remover than love aid. And the box itself is enormous, way too big to make this a discreet purchase along with a prawn sandwich during your lunch break. You can’t slip this baby into your handbag.

Then there’s the price. In these straitened times, Philips’ £79.99 price tag makes stimulating your “most intimate contours” seem rather a luxury. It might just be that the ads turn out to be the most pleasurable thing about the new brand.

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