Man almost emasculated by vagina soap

The Big Lebowski: What makes a man, Mr. Lebowski? [...] Is it being prepared to do the right thing, whatever the cost? Isn't that what makes a man?  

The Dude: Hmmm... Sure, that and a pair of testicles. 

The insecurity of the straight man is a helluva thing:



While it's clear that this ad is "making fun of all that," it's a humour that reveals some serious issues with the way we straight guys view our gender identity.

The ad is aimed at women, clearly, and gleefully takes the piss out of the stereotyped husband who is deathly afraid of being tainted with anything feminine. Considering how many times Summer's Eve has insulted women in their ads, I suspect this is a deliberate attempt to curry favour by evening the score.

While stereotypes are by nature exaggerated, I can tell you that this fear of feminization is a real thing that is programmed in boys early, and which is difficult to eradicate. I'm not sure if it's more misogyny or homophobia that drives it. In general terms, I suspect the latter.

However, this ad, with its coy reference to the "V," is definitely assuming that a man who pretty much lives to get into the vagina is also terrified of it. The idea that masculinity is so fragile must look completely bizarre to women. But I imagine to some it is also deeply offensive.

Fortunately, things can change. When I was getting my then-8-year-old son ready for school one rainy day last year, he grabbed a flowery umbrella of his mom's. I told him, "Don't take that, it's a girl's umbrella." He responded, flatly, "Dad, that's sexist." And I had to agree with him and apologize.

This ad is not helping, though. It may mock men for being so insecure about their manliness, but the "doofus husband" stereotype also creates a culture of acceptance of these loutish traits by women. "Boys will be boys" thinking may seem harmless, but it allows gender stereotypes to flourish. Women really deserve better.

Thanks to Adland and Adfreak for the tip.

For the love of all that is vaginal, please stop!

Summer's Eve pissed off women and men alike last year with their appalling "deodorize your ladybits before asking for a raise" ad. Then they baffled with their attempted "That's So Vaginal!" viral.

Now, they're continuing their (ironic, in my opinion) celebration of the vagina in this over-the-top epic:



"Show it a little love"? Seriously?  I'm sure that you already know the best way to love yourself below is to keep scented and irritating products the hell out of there.

According to AdFreak, Summer's Eve attempted to stop the bad PR by going on a "listening tour" of the United States. The result is this campaign from The Richards Group that quickly goes from glorifying ancient motherhood and fertility cults to positioning a woman's sex as a possession for men to fight and kill over. And this is supposed to be a step forward?

This unmitigated crapfest follows hot on the heels of a YouTube campaign featuring patronizing talking vaginahands:









Here's an idea: if you really care so much about women's intimate health, stop spreading misinformation about the malodorousness and care of their privates just to sell useless and damaging chemical crap.

And leave the vagina viral marketing to Mooncup. They do it way better.

That may be it for Work That Matters this week. I'm off to the mostly-offline bliss of the cottage. After reviewing a campaign like this, I need a break from being an adman.

F'd Ad Fridays: That's... WHAT?

Blame Eve Ensler. When she started The Vagina Monologues, 15 years ago, she also began the journey of an anatomical term from being confined to doctors offices and awkward sex ed classes to everyday conversation.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for a frank and open public dialogue about sexuality. (Although I still feel that people should be more accurate when they're talking about the "vulva") But leave it to marketers to take a good thing and ruin it.



Speaking of ruining a good thing, do you not also find it ironic that Summer's Eve, a company founded on the premise that women's genitals are naturally dirty and smelly, is pretending to celebrate the very thing their product denigrates (and possibly damages)?

This fake blog, hosted by a... pussy with a fist in it (?) was started last week as a stealth effort, and outed its branding only yesterday. It is attempting to start a meme by promoting the word "vaginal" in place of "awesome" - similar to "It's OK to say 'Takei'", but not as likable. Nonetheless, it's all over Twitter today.

Now it's encouraging user submission:

"To submit a vaginal video or photo, simply upload it to your YouTube, Vimeo or Flickr account, click the SUBMIT NOW button below and email me the link. If I agree that your submission is indeed vaginal, I will gladly post it to my blog – just let me know how to attribute your genius work with your preferred user name."

But just in case you took "vaginal video" literally, it has the disclaimer that:

1. It be awesome
2. It be non-pornographic
3. You own the content

What do you think of the campaign? Personally, I hate it, but mostly because it's for a consumer brand I really detest.

If it were a campaign to get people talking about real vaginal health, like Julyna, I'd be much less of a douche about it.