The Reel 360 team did not know it was Masturbation Month. But out with the male gaze and its hangups. It’s 2021, and society is done with the male gaze. In fact, according to K-Y, it’s high-time more is done to champion the females, especially when it comes to sexual wellness.
While stigma keeps the topic taboo in the mainstream, the only visibility masturbation gets in pop culture is through “bro” comedy. Until now.
For Masturbation Month, K-Y is celebrating loud and proud how real women comically refer to masturbation in an outdoor campaign, created by IPG’s Elephant, across New York City’s most sex-forward neighborhoods: East Village, Bushwick and Williamsburg.
“Key cultural moments, like Masturbation Month, give us the opportunity to practice what we preach with playful awareness-driving tactics that engage our audience in new and surprising ways, further establishing K-Y’s leadership as a sexual wellness icon,” said Aliza Leferink, Marketing Director, Intimate Wellness USA, at RB.
She adds, “We believe that masturbation deserves to be celebrated by everyone, especially women, and through this campaign, we hope to normalize any stigmas around masturbation and sex. It’s fun, it’s healthy, and it’s ‘Good For You’ and your relationship.”
The manifesto copy reads as this: “Cheers to all who ménage à moi, paddle the pink canoe, and butter their own muffin. Hooray for double-clicking your mouse and beating your own bush. Hats off to auditioning the finger puppets, patting the cat, and slapping the oyster. A toast to all of us who jill off, hands-solo, finger cardio, one-night hand, self-stroke and poke, and stir that honey pot. Here’s to getting busy solo or together. However you polish your pearl – good for you! Let’s give ourselves a hand. It’s Masturbation Month. K-Y“
Designed for all to stop, think and smirk, the brightly-colored, hand-painted type-only campaign features headlines like “Let’s give ourselves a hand” and “Hand up if you masturbate,” along with a longer manifesto honoring “all who polish the pearl.” Look below:
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“For this campaign to truly be impactful, we couldn’t simply nod to a calendar event; we needed to carve a space for all who identify as women,” says Nina Mourin, Associate Creative Director at Elephant New York. “That’s why we ‘cheers’ more than once in the manifesto, and feature a long line-up of euphemisms. The exaggeration is on purpose: if we’re going to grab the spotlight, you better believe we’re going to take our sweet time basking in it.”
The outdoor campaign will run for the month of May. K-Y will also use social channels to amplify the topic of female masturbation, encouraging connection, intimacy and wellness.
We would typically say this article is NSFW, but why shouldn’t be? It’s a natural part of life and one we need to stop ignoring and like the brand says, celebrate.
CREDITS:
CLIENT: RB
- Cynthia Chen, President North America, Health
- Aliza Leferink, Marketing Director, Intimate Wellness USA
- Nadine El Habbal, Brand Manager, Intimate Wellness USA
- Sherrell Honore, Consumer Research Manager
AGENCY: Elephant
- Executive Creative Director: Pablo Marques
- Associate Creative Director: Nina Mourin
- Creative Director: David Knights
- Creative Director, Design: Craig Ward
- Strategy Director: Becky Lau
- Client Partner: Anna Taylor
- Client Lead: Keith Dougherty
- Project Manager: Paige Sharkey
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
