The Covid-19 crisis has seen a significant rise in home entertainment which has prompted RB’s Durex, via agency Havas London, to steer us through the easing of lockdown (assuming it happens) with a campaign advising us “NOT to go back to normal – because normal isn’t good enough.”
Why? Because pre-crisis sexual manners and assumptions weren’t good enough, they say, as they included “sexual shaming” of women who carried condoms (not good for sales obviously) and men not wearing condoms because the don’t like “the feel” (the rotters.)
There’s even a manifesto behind it, including, among words of advice – “Normal was one million needless STIs (sexually transmitted infections) every. single. day.”
This could have been annoyingly preachy, so a challenge for the agency.
Ben Wilson, global category director, Sexual Wellbeing at RB (a good conversation opener)) says: “Everyone is talking about going back to normal. But nobody is questioning whether we should. Truth is, ‘normal’ is rooted in a lot of outdated conventions and when it comes to sex, we can do better.
“The current crisis is a unique chance to reset what ‘normal’ looks like, and we’re taking it upon ourselves to challenge that normal, because nobody should want to go back to a world that wasn’t working for everyone.”
A high wire act then. But Havas, showing a deft touch in these matters recently, just about pulls it off (no entendre intended.)
MAA creative scale: 7.5.
