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Durex Integrated Campaign Strategy
Updated: Nov 9, 2022
CDC200A Message Meaning Media
Assessment 2 (Interim Submission)
Oliver Lavender
Brand History
Reckitt Benckiser, a well-known British multinational consumer goods corporation, sells a variety of condom brands in its nutritional, hygiene, and health products division. Purchased in 2010, Durex is one of the company's leading brands and is a global pioneer accounting for 30 percent of the global market share. It has manufacturing facilities in India, Thailand, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.
Durex has been intertwined with the lives of billions of men and women all over the planet for over 90 years. An acronym conceived decades ago to designate three major traits, namely DUrability, REliability, and EXcellence, has remained true to the actual meaning and value it represents, allowing Durex to have a presence in over 200 countries.
The DUREX condom brand was registered by the London Rubber Company (LRC) in 1929. The introduction of the first completely automated production in 1951 and the creation of the first electronic testing devices two years later marked the company's crucial next steps as a leading global condom supplier.
Figure 1 - Durex pioneered the electric testing of condoms back in the 50s & Figure 2 - A london shopfront advertising Durex "Rubberware" circa 1950s.
A brief history on the adoption of the humble Franga:
Throughout Durex's 90 years on the market, the change in who buys condoms and for what reason has dramatically shifted as more and more people are educated on the responsibilities of sexual health.
In America condom sales were affected by the introduction of the Comstock act in 1873, which prohibited the sale and distribution of products considered to be "immoral in nature" (Oatman-Stanford, 2012) right up until the 1920s.
At the end of the 1800s (and into the first half of the 20 century), condoms were relegated to pubs, barber shops and theatres, usually reserved as a luxury for the upper class who were more sexually educated than the masses. In World War I, the German army was the first to deploy condoms as part of the rations of its troops, which drastically decreased the prevalence of STI's like gonorrhoea and syphilis, especially when viewed in comparison to Allied troops, who weren't issued with any protection until WW2 (Khan et al. 2013) (Medibank, 2016).
It wasn't until after World War II that condoms became more widespread/commercially available, making their way into drug stores and other male focused retail outlets. Durex had seen what was to come, and in this newage, post war world, men were charged with taking responsibility for their partners sexual health. But with the invention of penicillin and the pill, condom use "plummeted" through the 1950-60's (Newby, 2015). It would be a almost another decade before the humble "franga" saw a resurgence.
In response to the AIDS threat, condoms began to be sold more openly in public places such as supermarkets and bars from the 1980s onwards. This decade saw a dramatic uptick in marketing, with the first Durex poster campaign in 1982, as well as the first condom commercial on television in 1987.
The 90's brought about a change in sexual health and hygiene awareness from the mass media, with companies deciding to pursue younger audiences for their products as social perceptions and attitudes began to shift (and marketers began to exploit).
The "naughties" is where the modern Durex we know today - came of age.
Further shifts in the perception of sexual identity and the freedom to express it, allowed the brand to be more adventurous and cheeky with its advertising than ever before. Notably, Durex has made a continued effort to reduce the over sexualisation of women (as seen in nearly all competitors advertising) throughout their campaigns, instead using pathos to trigger emotional (as opposed to more "physiological") responses in the viewer.
Today, Durex accounts for 30 percent of the global condom market, with a USP for every product. As a well established brand with a considerable legacy, Durex commands a unique position in the marketplace. With online sales growing every year it will be interesting to see how customers continue to buy condoms in the future.
Figure 3 - Condoms are now manufactured on a mass scale with over 30 billion made each year.
Who is the brand’s target audience?
Males and females
18 - 35 years old (with a specific focus on 18-24)
People (couples) who want to avoid unplanned pregnancy or the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI)
People with a desire for better, more pleasurable sexual experiences
Young working professionals in metro areas
Customers with disposable income
Over the last 10 years, the core audience of Durex has shifted from a male dominated market towards a gender inclusive focus towards women. Aside from shifting the balance of responsibility around sexual health to both genders, Durex has also aimed at "closing the orgasm gap" citing figures that "2 out of 3 women do not regularly orgasm during sex" (Barnett, 2017). According to recent studies, "Gen Z" is having less sex than the preceding generation. Coupled with a worldwide pandemic and a massive increase in online traffic, adult toy sales have skyrocketed as more people look to themselves for sexual gratification.
Demographics and Psychographics
Condom users are extremely wide ranging in their demographics but united across psychographics (in a manner of speaking). All heterosexual users have a fear of unplanned pregnancy and more commonly, the contraction of STI's remains the number one common denominator across all demographics.
Demographics
Typically, condoms are marketed to all demographics; however, it appears that Durex is targeting a younger demographic of 16-24 year olds. The primary reason for this (according to Durex's market developers (2002), "market research has demonstrated that, once recruited, brand loyalty among users is exceptionally strong." As of the year 2003, Durex was targeting approximately 60 million 16-24 year olds with its ad campaigns in order to attract and strengthen customer loyalty into the new millennium (Georjon 2003).
Other demographics include those who have higher incomes (Durex is a premium item marketed to urban workers and upper middle class customers as a lifestyle product), those who are open to experimentation and pleasure seeking (thinner condoms, sex toys etc), couples in long term relationships, single men and women, soldiers, virgins and anybody who has sex with protection.
Psychographics
Young person who likes to have fun and engage in social activities
Open minded and extroverted
Well connected with technology, current trends and topics
Socially concerned about the spread of STIs and AIDS/HIV
Fitness/lifestyle focused
Vanity and status are important
Trusted brand mentality
People who buy in bulk
Customers who on-sell to other products
Sex positive
Educated and Uneducated
Confident and Timid
Key Messages
Love Sex
The world's best selling condom
Have sex and save lives (Red)
For a 100 million reasons (old Tagline)
Core Brand Values
Challenge the stigma or taboo around sex in society.
Promises to make the conversation around sex open, honest, safe and most importantly fun.
"We stand for real sex. We believe in recognising the problems, and fighting to fix them.
Sex that feels good & does good."
Durex Brand Voice
Loud - Proud - Compelling Powerful - Important
Visual Brand Identity
Durex has always maintained a strong visual identity system that maintains a cohesive look and feel across multiple platforms and product lines.
Figure 4-12 - A selection of of Durex's brand identity system, including their own unique typeface "One Night Sans".
What strategies have they used in the past?
Moment Marketing and Top of Mind Awareness have been absolutely key in Durex's marketing mix, perhaps only rivalled by brands like Oreos when it comes to reacting quickly to current events.
With such a long history it is impossible to present a full picture of all the ways in which Durex advertises. As a result, focus has been put on Digital/Print and Video campaigns, though it should be noted that the brand maintains an extensive presence of physical touch points at retail outlets too.
Durex have always invested heavily into print and traditional advertising (TV and editorial), with a wide array of highly memorable and successful campaigns such as the their "labyrinth" and "Protect Yourself TVC's. In the last 10 to 15 years the brand has turned its focus more towards online video content with a wide range of sexual health themed videos aimed at young males from the viewpoint of their female partners. Topics such as how to use a condom (see below), porn, consent, virginity, female anatomy and pleasure etc, have helped the brand position itself as more than a condom manufacturer.
Figure 13 - A fantastic example of how Durex is able to have fun and stay on brand by using slick motion design graphics that educate and entertain the customer.
Anticipating a mass increase of condom sales ahead of the first wave of the pandemic subsiding in 2021, Durex unveiled its "Erectometer" - "a giant, mobile billboard displaying real-time New South Wales vaccination data" (Ireland, 2021), which reached "Vax Climax" as 80% of the population became double vaccinated.
Durex have also aligned themselves with various non profit organisations to combat major challenges in society such as AIDS (#GAF). Durex's line of RED condoms were marketed with charitable incentive to customers, with Durex donating a portion of sales towards the fight against HIV in Africa. They have also partnered with organisations like earth hour and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in providing sponsorship, free products and many cross-promotional opportunities for both brands.
Durex has also been no stranger to controversy, landing itself in the muddy waters of sexism and gender equality on more than one occasion. Most notably their campaign for a new line of XXL condoms (featuring the lower half of a woman's face with bandaids at the corners of her mouth and the accompanying tagline "Really Big"), was widely condemned as condoning the abuse of women. When trying to use shock value in advertising, there is a fine line between creating a purple cow or an outright viral PR nightmare. Knowing how far a marketer can push a certain concept is heavily reliant on understanding not only their own individual target market, but also understanding the "temperature" of society at large. This is where Durex really excels and maintains an edge over the competition, retailing to over 200 countries worldwide.
Recent campaigns have centred around sexual education, with an emphasis towards female pleasure, promoting a line of sex toys and condoms with a feminine aesthetic. Along with encouraging us all to #letsnotgobacktonormal, Durex has attempted to create public sentiment around the introduction of a condom emoji, citing the need for clearer communication when discussing sex in text. This could be seen as a effective and thoughtful use of brand power to shift consumer perception for good... or as a blatant publicity stunt, aimed squarely at increasing brand engagement online using the hashtag #condomemoji to drive interest towards Durex. Since the campaign closed, no mention has been made of progress on the matter, which goes to show you really can ask the consumer to do anything and follow through on nothing.
Figure 14-18 - A selection of recent campaigns for Durex, 1) The Erectometer, 2) Give A Fuck, 3) XXL, 4) Let's Not Go Back To Normal, 5) Condom Emoji.
Older Campaigns
Figure 19-20 - Head to the the Milanote link for a more campaigns: https://app.milanote.com/1OL65K1CVoYk2P?p=L9mbsIgA7FX
Media Platforms and Target Audience Engagement
Durex uses every major platform available to them, with particular focus towards FB and YT. Durex are master "Moment Marketers" jumping on current events with a level of confidence that most companies are lacking. They have also been known to create small novelty experiences (gimmicks) which are then marketed to a wider audience online.
Instagram: Durex maintains a large presence on instagram, with channels servicing over 20 countries and languages. Instagram is perfect for creating brand awareness within the customers native tongue and makes the transfer of copy and images between different regions fairly effortless. Comparatively to Durex's other social channels, the content is fairly "low rent", consisting of simple on-brand imagery and copy with sparing use of video. This being said, Durex does have to be selective with its messaging, as the nature of the product is still met with resistance in conservative countries such as India and parts of the Middle East and Africa.
Youtube: YT serves as the main outlet for video content outside of Durex's traditional channels and his highly interactive, encouraging open, honest conversation around how consumers can have better sex. These videos are usually in the form of Q&A's with customers (or actors?) who talk candidly about their sexual encounters with the aim of educating the wider 18-35 audience on topics like anal sex, consent and the importance of lubrication during sex as just a few examples.
Facebook: FB is arguably Durex's largest social platform with nearly 12 million subscribers. Facebook acts as the main forum in which the brand can interact with customers whilst also serving as an effective "Moment Marketing" vehicle for current events.
TikTok: As the youth demographic shifts from ageing platforms such as Facebook, brands are looking to TikTok as the major new platform on which to position themselves with a younger, edgier audience. Interestingly Durex has registered accounts in many regions (including Australia) but seems to be holding off in investing major energy into the new platform with only America, Canada and the UK currently featuring content.
Twitter: The largest audience share on Twitter belongs to Durex Indonesia with just over 40K subscribers. Twitter seems to be under utilised for the brand with many accounts most recent posts from several years ago. Perhaps Twitter isn't suited for the young, sexy aesthetic Durex is trying to project and better utilised as a mechanism for reacting to world events and distributing press releases.
Traditional: Print and TV still play an important role in Durex's marketing mix, but as social media comes of age, young adults have primarily shifted away from traditional media onto new platforms that allow more meaningful (two way) interaction. When selling to over 200 countries, careful management is key to staying on-brand and focused towards the companies key target demographics. Durex have always had a strong, immediately identifiable visual style (with their now ubiquitous blue backgrounds) which is easily transferred between different mediums. Durex has also created a strong online sales funnel, ensuring discrete and fast delivery to the customers door.
Campaign Topic
The War In Ukraine
Figure 21-33 - Photos of the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. Photographers: David Guttenfelder, Nicole Tung, Mauricio Lima, Ivor Prickett, Tyler Hicks, Finbarr O'Reilly, Laura Boushnak, Lynsey Addario - courtesy of nytimes.com
Impact
At the present moment, the largest story in the world has to be Russia's ruthless invasion and attempted annexation of Ukraine. The world is teetering on the edge of World War III, with major players on the world stage aggressively pursuing defensive strategies to safeguard their own interests, domestic and foreign. The threat of nuclear war is ominously floating above our heads like the sword of Damocles, further fuelling fear and uncertainty.
In the Ukraine itself, 12 million people have become refugees almost overnight. Of those that have stayed, many are without basic human utilities power, medicine, food and water. The last 7 months have seen brutal combat and tragic loss of life on both sides with Russian casualties alone estimated to be anywhere from 15 to 40 thousand soldiers dead.
As the Russian army is driven back towards the border, evidence of heinous and unthinkable war crimes are being brought to light. Mass executions and graves have been discovered in many towns and villages that the Russian army has occupied since the beginning of the war. Rape and torture have also been used to create fear and panic amongst the people of Ukraine.
Affected
The entire planet. Supply chains, oil pipelines, political allegiance have all come undone leading to massive inflation in first world countries and starvation, famine and death in the third world. Ukraine is the 7th largest wheat producer on the planet (USDA, 2022), and the top exporter of sunflower meal and oil, providing essential supply on which third third world countries depend.
This is just one example of the billions of dollars now flowing away from the struggling nation.
This war affects us all as individuals, watching the horrors of the day, replay themselves night after night. The powerlessness that comes in the face of tyranny. The apathy that comes with being on the other side of the planet. The senselessness of such mass destruction and death of conscripted young men and women.
Most of all it affects Ukrainians. The country has been repeatedly attacked by Russia since 2014 and is now in the midst of a full scale invasion. Missiles, artillery and drones have been relentlessly pounding cities across the nation, killing thousands of innocent civilians, all in an effort to break the Ukrainian resistance and demoralise the population.
Lastly, the people of Russia have also been wrapped up in a political nightmare headed by dictator without opposition. The news media has been perpetuating the lies the state feeds it and any dissenting voices have been met with extreme force. Russians deserve to know what atrocities are being committed in their name.
Why is it important?
After 8 months of war the world has grown apathetic to the plight of Ukraine. 24/7 news cycles have desensitised the masses into a state of constant anxiety for the future. The threat of potential nuclear war has left people feeling numb and hopeless in the face of such wanton destruction. During the pandemic we mourned the tragic loss of life at all levels and shut down society at large to preserve life over capitalism.
Men, women, boys, girls, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are needlessly being ripped apart (LITERALLY) by the horror of war and we stand by and watch?!
The people need hope!
Ukraine needs peace!
If Durex is able to raise illustrate the senselessness of war, we can change the way people feel about continuing to support regimes that perpetuate violence as the answer.
We want individuals to know how much power they truly possess. We want them to raise their voice as one and speak out against the injustice of war in Ukraine. We wish for peace.
Where sanctions have failed, the people will succeed. Hate must be fought with empathy, compassion and love.
...we could also get them to donate money to some charity or whatever...
Love Sex... Durex
Figure 34 - “The Power of Love Over Hate” Paul Garland (2022)
What does the target audience currently know / think about the topic?
It's hard to know exactly how the 18-35 year old demographic of Durex feel about the war in Ukraine, but one can can make deductions from previous wars and the the youths response to them. Traditionally it is youth and students who most opposed to war. They have had less time to be indoctrinated and more time to become progressive, ergo they are more receptive to messages of peace and more likely to fight for injustice. The true horror of war is sadly not lost on them.
Unless you have been living under a rock, it's hard not to know about the war in Ukraine, but the people of the world are tired. Society has been on DEFCON 1 for the majority of the last 2 years. The people are weary of burdensome news. They have only just restarted their own lives and seek stability. In a world of turmoil, ignorance is bliss - the people have disengaged and tuned out.
In terms of public sentiment and opinion, it appears that the west is largely against the war in Ukraine and have cut ties with Russia (economically and diplomatically) as the war has escalated. The "us against them" mentality has been steadily creeping into public discourse since the beginning of the war. We have now reached a point where comment sections under videos of Russian soldiers being blown to bits with improvised explosive drones are cheered on by keyboard warriors, shouting vitriolic calls for more violence and retribution.
As has been demonstrated in previous world wars - as violence grows as understanding fails. We as a society are in danger of slipping out of curiosity and into judgement.
Except for the likes of China, North Korea and Iran (who also share abhorrent human rights abuses), the rest of the world has joined in condemning Russia. Our campaign aims to combat this dualistic "black and white" mentality and show that that violence is senseless in any scenario.
Now more than ever, we must heed the potent mantra of the late great John Lennon;
"Make Love, Not war".
Figure 35 - Families of Ukrainian P.O.W.s gathering in Kyiv (2022) Photo: Laura Boushnak for The New York Times.
Developing The Message
If Durex stands for love and communication, then war stands as the antithesis to these tenants. Durex needs to align with its core values of "recognising the problems, and fighting to fix them," positioning the brand as a socially conscientious objector to the war in Ukraine.
Campaign Objectives:
Our goal is to get 18 - 35 year olds, who are passively indifferent (apathetic) to the crisis in Ukraine to say "No to War" by appealing to their emotional reasoning through the use of pathos.
Or put more simply:
Our aim is to persuade youth around the world who are sitting on the fence about the Ukrainian crisis to oppose war by appealing to their emotions.
The plan is to create a series of compelling anti war posters and motion design videos that uncover the true cost of war and guide viewers to peaceful solutions and humanitarian aid.
Our aim is to shock the audience out of apathy and into action, with a mix of dark humour and hard truth. In true Durex style, the goal is to subvert expectations with a sex positive tone whilst simultaneously raising awareness about the senselessness of war.
Based on market research, Durex's core target audience intersects with many youth demographics who may be sympathetic to the situation in Ukraine, but may not know how to respond meaningfully. We aim to rally these voices in opposition to the war by presenting ways they can engage on a consequential level to give peace a chance.
Brainstorming
There are many ways to approach this "wicked" problem, but the most important thing to remember is that it should make the viewer feel something. The fundamental objective is to appeal to the target audience's pathos and take them closer to speaking up and thus effecting change. This campaign is about empowering people to think critically about the "facts" they are presented with and knowing they aren't alone in questioning why - in the year 2022 - we are still capable of such unspeakable violence.
Concepts
To begin, no concept was to silly, everything went down on the table:
Protection For Ukraine - Donate a dollar from each pack
For More Than Just Sex (#Morethansex) (Medi/Engineering Kit)
Blow In, Not Up
Shoot Semen, Not Seamen
More Missionary, Less Military
Drop Thongs, Not Bombs
Sexy Times, Not Landmines
Hanky Panky, Not Tanky Tanky
Play More, Not Claymore
Frangas Over Fronlines
Call to action for humanitarian aid
Get condoms to the frontline
Make Love, Not War
Conscription - A funny take
"Save your soldiers"
We Care About Protecting People
Petitions - Stop The War
Having a fight with your partner VS larger conflict
Protection - You wear it on the battlefield?
If war is the answer, then we are asking the wrong question.
Condom Gun Belts
Consent Counts (extends beyond the bedroom)
No Consent Given #NoConsent
No Means No
They're Not Shooting Blanks #NotShootingBlanks
Misfire?
No Time To F**k Around!
The only time you should pull out #PulloutOfUkraine
Consent-ious Objector
F**k & Cover
Save punishment for the bedroom
(N.B. I was unable to gain feedback from other students in class due to the extension timeframe granted. Some feedback was collected from Melanie in class around foundational campaign ideas (CDC200), which appear in the list above. The suggestion of Durex was also put forward in this session)
Imagery
Durex has spent many years crafting its visual rhetorical style, usually consisting of simple imagery on a white or blue background. The copywriting is often clever, short and simple. Often, a clear call to action is foregone and instead replaced by a quirky, memorable line that helps Durex stay "top of mind" when the customer next buys condoms. The aim is to replicate this approach by creating a unified look and feel across a range of catchy and provocative posters with short compelling copywriting. Thes poster can stand alone in isolation or work cohesively when displayed in unison.
Durex has used the combination of yellow and blue in previous campaigns, which can be rehashed to our advantage as the colours create a strong and identifiable association with the brand straight out of the gate.
In terms of symbolism, well... somehow it makes sense to use condoms as a visual device across the campaign?
Condoms are a barrier
They stop one thing from entering another
They prevent pregnancy
They stop the spread of infections
They can infer sex / erotic
Safety
Intimacy
Taboo
Love
Care
In regards to war symbolism:
Guns, missiles and bombs are phallic symbols
Boys fighting with toys
Death and destruction
Flags and patriotism
Blood
First Aid
Explosions
Borders and territory
Artillery and tanks
Bears and Nightingales
It makes sense to work with variations on a theme. This could come from the use of semiotic features such as colour, symbolism, or a tagline for example.
Moodboard 1
This selection of images provide an inspiring and often confronting take on the reality of war, while still retaining a dark sense of humor which shocks the viewer into attention by subverting their expectations. Visual metaphors and sight gags are used to quickly suggest and effectively deliver a simple message. Also included are previous Durex (and competition) campaigns that effectively communicated a commedic message in a minimalist format.
Figure 36 - Moodboard for campaign design. Full board can be viewed at:
https://app.milanote.com/1OL65K1CVoYk2P?p=L9mbsIgA7FX
Moodboard 2
This selection of images revolves around weapons and condoms.
Figure 37 - Moodboard for campaign design. Full board can be viewed at:
https://app.milanote.com/1OL65K1CVoYk2P?p=L9mbsIgA7FX
AI Prototyping Ideas
It was hard to find appropriate reference material in this category due to weak association. I have been experimenting with text to image generation for the last year or so and wanted to see if it was possible to bridge the conceptual gap with artificial intelligence.
I was able to produce some interesting results but a model would need to be trained * on condoms specifically as there is simply not enough reference data (text/image pairs) to yield high enough fidelity for photo realism. Who would have thought there wasn't more pictures frangas on gunz in this crazy world?!
( * which thanks to a new feature called textual inversion is entirely possible to do. I am currently beta testing software - that produced the results you see below - which would allow me to do this for free and am considering this approach for assessment 3)
Figure 38-41 - These images were made by Stable Diffusion via Diffusion Bee running locally on (my) Macbook Pro. Prompts used revolved around "Latex condom rolled over the barrel of a gun on a blue background with a slight gradient, bullets in a condom, peace sign made out of condoms etc.
Visualising The Message
This campaign is primarily going to be digital, but could also include physical touch points such as posters. This first series of sketches revolve around the theme of "Make Love, Not War". It is not an entirely original theme, but a good place to start, which got the juices flowing.
Figure 42 - Initial concept sketches, not the most original ideas but it helped get the ball rolling.
As more ideas started to come, I wanted to explore less literal approaches. I also wanted to explore what the campaign might look like in a more finished format, so I switched up sketching to mock ups in photoshop.
Figure 43 - Starting to think about visual puns and gags + the addition of copy.
Potential Executions
Of the back of the first ideas I was drawn to the idea of using puns and juxtaposition. This seemed like a good way to convey the message while still keeping on brand. By drawing comparison to "Normal" and "Crazy" I was able to strike a unique balance that allows the viewer to make up their own mind and solve the answer to the puzzle themselves (so to speak). I also tried (at least in this round) to keep the Ukraine branding to a minimum, asking the viewer to connect the dots, with the aim of making them feel more involved. This needs to be adjusted in assessment 3, along with a clear defined call to action. Both of these things I require feedback for as at this point in time I'm not sure exactly where to take this now. I welcome your thoughts!
I believe this to be the strongest direction so far, but would like to mock up some of the sketches in higher fidelity as you see below.
Figure 44 - Once a theme was discovered, the ideas began to flow more freely. I feel that this is a strong direction pursue in assessment 3.
I wanted to create one high fidelity mock up to see how this campaign could look as we move into assessment 3. I remembered I have an Adobe Stock account which really made this look better. The higher resolution, mixed with well lit models makes for an engaging graphic. Its eye catching and visually arresting. I will be happy to continue forward in this style and perhaps see what can be done with the AI systems I mentioned earlier and what is possible with 3D as well.
Figure 45 - A higher fidelity mock to help guide the look and feel of the campaign.
I would have liked to spend more time trying out various combinations but this is what I was able to achieve in the time I had left. At this point I also feel I could use some guidance before preceding with assessment 3. Overall I feel that the theme and execution is there, now it needs some tweaking.
Rationale
A. Why is your message important? Why have you chosen this angle?
It has only been 8 months since the start of Russias war on Ukraine, but in this time more than 12 million people have been displaced, tens of thousands of Russian's and Ukrainians have been killed, both civilian and military. The country has been ripped apart from one end to the other and we have only just started to uncover the unspeakable war crimes that have been inflicted upon the Ukrainian people.
Something needs to be done to address this senseless, needless war. Sanctions have failed, politics have failed. Diplomacy has failed. Perhaps the will of the people is stronger. If these ads could be run in Russia, perhaps this could raise awareness of what the government is really up to.
For the rest of the world, we have become apathetic and desensitised to the plight of the Ukrainian people. By using juxtaposition and dichotomy, this campaign chooses the angle of shock and surprise, subverting the viewers expectations and reengaging them with the reality of war.
B. Why will your visual approach resonate with your audience? Why have you chosen this approach?
This message should resonate with Durex's target market due to its use of repetition and subversion. What at first glance, might look like a normal ad is able to hold the viewers attention when they discover the deeper meaning.
The idea was to fit in with Durex's typical visual aesthetic, but push the concept further with imagery that wouldn't be seen in a typical campaign. This content is risqué and opposite in nature to help deliver a message of "normal, not normal".
The approach is to shock the viewer into action and motivate them through empathy and a shared sense of responsibility.
C. Why will your ideas for executing your campaign work? Why have you chosen these touchpoints/media platforms?
The greater community will respect Durex for taking a stand against war and violence. We need voices in powerful positions to speak up and change the course of the conversation to NO WAR ... AT ALL! It is simply unacceptable, in the year 2022, that we are held ransom by tyrannical dictators with nuclear weapons and massive armies on tap.
True meaningful change can only come through peace and thats what this campaign is calling for. Let us see war for what it truely is: State sanctioned murder and genocide.
In terms of platforms, Durex is well placed for a digital campaign (FB, IG, Twtr, TT, YT etc) with hundreds of thousands of followers (in the target demo) across all major platforms. This is the place where the youth are able to receive and transmit our message most effectively. The virality of social media will work in favour of the medium and the message of the campaign, helping it disseminate widely across a more receptive audience and effect meaningful change.
As a motion designer I also felt that a digital campaign would allow me to bring some of those skills over to this concept and push it a more audio visual way.
I would like to enhance the online campaign with some more POS or traditional touch points in assessment 3. I feel I was only just able to stumble on the meaty ideas right towards the end of assessment 2 and with some more time to think, believe I can work in something that resonates and continues the themes set in motion here.
All research, moodboards, design ideas for the campaign can be viewed at:
https://app.milanote.com/1OL65K1CVoYk2P?p=L9mbsIgA7FX
References
Khan, F., Mukhtar, S., Dickinson, I. K. & Sriprasad, S. (2013, March). The story of the condom. PubMed Central (PMC).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649591/
Medibank. (2016, November 29). The history of the condom | Live Better. Medibank Live Better. https://www.medibank.com.au/livebetter/be-magazine/wellbeing/the-history-of-the-condom/
Newby, D. J. (2015, April 6). Condoms. Catalyst. https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/condoms/11015880
Oatman-Stanford, H. (2012, August). Getting It On: The Covert History of the American Condom. Collectors Weekly.
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/getting-it-on-the-covert-history-of-the-american-condom/
Barnett, M. (2017, March 10). How RB is ‘closing the orgasm gap’ with Durex. Marketing Week.
https://www.marketingweek.com/rb-looking-close-orgasm-gap-durex/
Ireland, T. (2021, September 30). Durex Unveils The Travelling “Erectometer”, As Condom Brand Eyes Big Demand Post-Lockdown - B&T.
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