Toronto creative agency Open has partnered with health and beauty company Damiva to launch a line of personal care products for women.
Mae by Damiva, an all-natural vaginal moisturizer, is the first product to launch. Open, which has invested in Damiva, created the identity, branding, product name, package design and creative material. While there’s no media buy just yet, posters and print ads feature such cheeky lines as “Drier than a British comedy? Honey, you are not alone” and “Enough beating around the bush. Let’s talk about your vagina.”
The product name was inspired by Mae West, the famously free-spirited actress who was jailed in 1927 for her Broadway play, Sex.
Aimed at women 40+, Damiva products aim to “help women normalize the aging process and break through these unspoken topics,” said Chia Chia Sun, founder of Damiva and an executive in the pharmaceutical field.
The packaging for Mae has black type in a typewriter font against a white background. The copy introduces Mae, talks about vaginal dryness and how the product can help, ending with the line, “Pick me up, take me home and get ready to feel like a teenager again.”
“The intent behind the package design and tone of voice was to be very transparent and straightforward, obviously with a twinkle in its tonality,” said Open partner Christian Mathieu. “We want to be at least somewhat lighthearted and not take ourselves too seriously.”
As investors in Damiva, Open forgoes their traditional fee in exchange for profit share. “One of the founding principles of Open was to apply our talents to either developing our own brands or partnering with new brands,” said Mathieu. “If you take a piece of the company, believe in it and if all goes well, there’s higher risk but probably a bigger upside.”
The products are available for purchase at ByDamiva.com and Amazon.ca, and Sun is courting boutique retailers and medical spas to carry the product. Sun also revealed she recently taped a segment on CBC show Dragon’s Den, which allows entrepreneurs to pitch to a panel of multi-millionaires.
Damiva’s second product in development, Frida, is a cream to prevent excess facial hair growth and is named after Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
