The
condom market is crowded with marketers each of whom have carved out a unique
niche. Here's a blog I wrote about it in
2012.
So how
can Okamoto breakthrough with its message about their Zero Zero Four condom
line which proclaims to be one of the thinnest at 0.04 mm? (Faw, 2015)
How
about over-the top risqué ads? The
campaign's premise is that the condom provides so much sensation that it won't
help endurance. That sounds like an idea
the target might embrace. But is the
creative communicating it clearly? You tell
me...
An
interesting side note -- to save money the spots were created using inexpensive
stock photos from Getty Images and iStock.
Faw,
L. (2015, July 28) Okamoto Sells Sex Via
Grandmother, Cucumbers. mediapost.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from
8 comments:
i don't think it is a creative ad. Even though the sound of the woman provides the connections to the condom, it makes me feel confused that why the grandma appears in the ads. I don't think that millennials will get the meaning of the ads. It looks like that grandma disrupt my imagination of sex when i hear the sounds of the woman.
First of all, in Korea, we never advertise openly regarding condom or 'sex' stuff. Maybe we have very conservative mind from our culture. I still remember that united color of Benetton campaign was big sensation in Korea few years ago, because they just used 'condom' in their campaign.
In this commercial, I think it could work for 18-24 year old males or even 30's age. Especially when I saw the YouTube video, it is somewhat funny and want to see more what does this video means. And also I (Sure that I'm not 18-24 male) can imagine that the effectiveness of Okamoto is so powerful that it could last or continue from the beautiful girl to grandma. If I were a 20 year old man, I might want to try this new Okamoto condom because of simple curiosity that originated from the campaign.
Honestly, after watching it for 6 times and reading Seohyun's comment, I still didn't get it. If it's about endurance, grandma makes sense, but if thinness is the point, what does it have to do with grandma?
The message was so obscure in the video, if it's like the woman keeps asking "Are you sure you put it on?" I can read the message of thinness.
I googled it, someone says it means "you'll have to stop thinking about sex just to keep the fun going." You know women have the chance to watch the ad too, but I don't think any woman will be happy about the indication that her boyfriend has to think about grandma from time to time during the play.
I think that the message is one that could connect with young male adults 18-25 who are just starting to become sexually active, but I am not sure if the is creative communicating effectively. It was hard for me to understand the ad's purpose and I even had to pause to read and fully digest the text (Granted, this is a :15 second ad).
Overall, I think the consumer insight is clever. I thought using a grandmother was a little too far and made me cringe but then again, sparking this emotional reaction might be effective. I believe that this message could be more effective if the audience was given more information. For example, maybe the ad could have included a voiceover that was the thought process of the male.. That could have given us a bit more insight into the underlying message of the advertisement..
I think this advert is brilliant! It's going back to basics, and engaging the target with a relatable emotion. It doesn't try to add any type of social awareness message like Trojan did with health guru.com nor does it try to manipulate the external factors involved in lovemaking like Durex did with the Facebook app. This is the act of sex...thin condom...more pleasure...perhaps too much pleasure...think of something else to keep going. So simple and absurdly subtle. I think a male in that age range will be entertained and even buy the product.
:15 ad is funny and quite subtle. I think the young male demo will enjoy the ad but Im not so sure it will convey the "thinnest" message. A voiceover might explain it but I think a :30 spot would be more effective and informative. I applaud the creativity. The male demo won't get it right away. With more frequency maybe. Im sure there is another way to convey the "thinnest" advantages of the condom but Im at a loss at this moment.
Bert
I think it may get some guys in that age range to give it a try! (provided it's priced right) In a market of nearly identical products this obsession with being as "barely there" as possible is clearly a big differentiator between brands.
And while I'm sure they can't admit to the it publicly I think the ad is probably aimed at young men even younger than 18. The executions were not great but it does get the point across in a format that their audience is comfortable with. The cucumber video was the funniest one for me personally!
But as someone that's slightly older and (hopefully) a little wiser I find myself thinking - How thin is too thin? Because if I'm going through the effort of being safe I'd like to be reassured that I am in fact being protected!
Yuvi
Honestly given its target 18-24 year old males, I think the campaign could work. It is literally just making one single claim – the condom is so thin that it definitely won’t help with endurance – and with its core message being as succinct & straightforward as that, I feel like it ought to get the attention of its target audience. I also feel like it ties in with this audience’s key insight – which is basically to have the time of their lives while they’re at their ‘young & restless’ best. This bracket is usually so pumped up about bigger, better, newer experiences, that the moment a brand dangles another fascinating new object, they’d quite likely want to give it a whirl.
Further, I find the Creative both humorous & engaging, especially because for the first 10 seconds of each of the ads, one has absolutely no idea what’s going on – given the jarring contrast of grandmother versus hot female, or disco dancer versus hot female – which compels you to watch till the end.
And finally, I think its genius not to have spent too much money on the spots and gone with Getty images instead, because the ad didn’t require customized visuals at all. The message comes through regardless and that’s the bottom line.
- Virginia
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