Playtex is getting frisky with an ad campaign promoting its new Fresh + Sexy hygienic wipes, designed for use before and after sexual activity.
The “Clean where it counts” campaign from Grey New York uses a series of print and video ads built around sexual euphemisms such as “A clean beaver always finds more wood” and “A clean pecker always taps it.”
Sohana Samanta, brand manager with Energizer Personal Care in Mississauga, said that the marketing challenge is twofold: alerting consumers to an entirely new product and getting them to understand the product benefits.
“What we really loved about it right off the bat is that it’s both visually arresting and quite humorous,” she said. “We weren’t interested in shouting this message at people,” she said. “We wanted to be subtle and clever.”
Energizer acquired Playtex in 2007 and established the Energizer Personal Care unit to house its personal care brands (which also include Schick and Wilkinson Sword).
The product will be sold at Shoppers Drug Mart, Target, Quebec chain Jean Coutu and online at Amazon.ca beginning this month, with more retailers projected to carry the product by the summer.
Retailer support for the product has been “tremendous,” said Samanta. “Traditionally this area can be somewhat taboo for shoppers and retailers, but retailers have really jumped on board, from drug stores where people might be more accustomed to products like this, to mass retailers.”
The unisex product caters to sexually active adults, with a core target of adults 25 and older.
The Energizer Personal Care division already has experience in the wipes category through its Wet Ones brand, said Samanta. Consumer research indicated a market opportunity for the Fresh + Sexy product.
“Consumers are looking for an option to help them feel prepared going into sex and feel clean afterwards without having to run off and take a shower,” said Samanta. “It’s a really simple solution preventing a whole lot of extra steps.”
In Canada, the ads will appear on lifestyle sites represented by Glam Media network as well as so-called “target rich” sites including GQ and Yahoo! Lifestyle.
MEC is also running a sampling program, placing dispensers in restaurant washrooms. Boom! Marketing is overseeing a couponing program in Toronto and Vancouver.
The product launch is also being supported by a PR campaign from Paradigm Public Relations built around the “Playtex Fresh + Sexy Report,” a look into the sexual habits of Canadians based on an online survey.
The ads began appearing in U.S. magazines like Sports Illustrated and Women’s Health earlier this month, and are also being displayed on the brand’s North American Facebook page.
