Lovehoney is launching a new out-of-home campaign spotlighting the everyday household items people in the UK turn to for pleasure, in an effort to get around rules on advertising sex toys and encourage healthy conversation around the topic.
The ‘Not a Sex Toy’ campaign highlights how items like toothbrushes, pillows and cucumbers are used for sexual pleasure, alongside tongue-in-cheek copy telling audiences “You deserve better”.
It comes one year after Lovehoney received a ban from the ASA around a billboard which featured a Bell Gag, erected in response to Prince Harry’s memoir Spare to remind everyone that sometimes silence is golden.
With the support of brand value agency Boldspace, the campaign uses a touch of humour (and some household knack) to get around the restrictions.
It comes after a cheeky campaign put a spin on Crufts dog show by spotlighting the nation’s favourite sex position…
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“We’re thrilled to be launching the ‘Not A Sex Toy’ campaign with Lovehoney, in a bold way that will ensure our message gets cut through to a wider audience,” said Boldspace head of consumer Lou Kelly.
“Sexual health and wellness should be a conversation we are proud to address and we are excited to help Lovehoney do so,” she continued.
Lovehoney global PR lead Nadia McCowan Hill said: “Sexual wellness is an important part of our overall health, but all-too-often it is villainised and categorised alongside things that are explicit or harmful.”
She continued: “Advertising restrictions also frequently hinder our ability to educate the public on the topic of sexual wellness, which prevents information from reaching those who need it.”
“Given that we are not allowed to advertise sex toys – a key component of sexual wellness – we decided to get creative by asking the British public what they use instead. We then replicated these items on our billboards, thus creating our ‘unbannable ads,” she added.
“We’re on a mission to normalise the conversation around sexual wellness and bring sex toys into the mainstream, which we will do one cucumber at a time if we must!”
