Frenzy Condoms: Did I Just See That?
I was watching TV the other night when I saw a TVC for Frenzy condoms. On primetime television.
Wow. The Philippines has certainly come a long way, baby.
Years ago, it would've been unthinkable for a condom commercial to air anywhere. The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would've made sure of that. Trust me, the princes of the Roman Catholic Church here would've clamped down on them faster than the military could get to the NPAs. In this predominantly Roman Catholic country of mine, condoms and sex are never spoken of in polite society and who cares about AIDS or unplanned teenage pregnancies?
I remember a marketing campaign by Trust condoms before. I guess one can call it successful because, now, everyone is fully aware of the brand name, Trust. Still, it was a marketing campaign that was launched very tentatively. Lest hellfire and brimstone from the heavens fall on the unsuspecting marketing manager.
Enter Frenzy.
It was quite a nifty ad. Aimed at the young market (whose hormones are usually all over the place), it was tastefully executed. I actually thought they were advertising candy during the first few seconds. It only hit me after the TVC aired that it was an ad on condoms.
If I have any issue with the campaign, it stems from being a parent to a teenager and not as a marketing consultant.
The TVC's storyboard positioned the condoms rather quite casually - something that did not sit well with me as a mother although, as a marketing consultant, I get the point.
Had I been the one on board, I would've agreed to the positioning the product chose. After all, who gets in trouble frequently these days where sex is concerned? Of course, those with hormones all over the place and my teenager (despite all the hemming and hawing) is going through the same thing. I am not so ancient that I cannot remember what it feels like to be a teen raised in a Catholic home and going to school in a strict Catholic prep school where repression is the norm. So, yes, the ad is perfect where the marketing message targeted towards its market concerned.
As a mother, though, I have this thing about condoms being advertised oh so casually. Which is weird because I am the very same mother who bought condoms and a banana for her daughter when she asked me what they were. Needless to say, that little experiment has temporarily turned off all thoughts about sex for a while. Yippee! Well, wouldn't you feel disgusted when you see your mother trying to ram down a banana inside a condom and getting it all squishy? Really gross, I tell 'ya. I don't think I'll be eating bananas anytime soon.
I just felt that it made the condoms too available for these kids. In my sane mind, I know I'd rather have the condoms available anywhere and everywhere than end up being a grandmother before I'm 45. Still, the Mommy in me is having violent reactions.
I guess the Philippines is changing where social norms are concerned. So much so that even marketing practices are changing as well. What was once taboo can now be discussed on living plasma screens albeit very gingerly. As a people, we still don't talk about sex and sexual orientation as openly as the rest of the world probably does but, the fact that we can now utter the words over iced latte without gagging, is a step in the right direction.
As a marketing consultant, that makes my job easier. I don't have to get a migraine just thinking of ways to get around a subject that would make my grandmother reach out to me from her grave. For, in how many ways can you position sex without having the fear of God placed in your dark heart, right?
I think it's time we get that subject out in the open so we teach our children what sexual responsibility is all about. We are not teaching them to be promiscuous. But, it helps when they know what they're getting themselves into and the consequences of their actions. In the hands of a sensitive marketing strategist, now would be a good time to start doing that.
Kudos to Frenzy for being a brave soul.
Wow. The Philippines has certainly come a long way, baby.
Years ago, it would've been unthinkable for a condom commercial to air anywhere. The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would've made sure of that. Trust me, the princes of the Roman Catholic Church here would've clamped down on them faster than the military could get to the NPAs. In this predominantly Roman Catholic country of mine, condoms and sex are never spoken of in polite society and who cares about AIDS or unplanned teenage pregnancies?
I remember a marketing campaign by Trust condoms before. I guess one can call it successful because, now, everyone is fully aware of the brand name, Trust. Still, it was a marketing campaign that was launched very tentatively. Lest hellfire and brimstone from the heavens fall on the unsuspecting marketing manager.
Enter Frenzy.
It was quite a nifty ad. Aimed at the young market (whose hormones are usually all over the place), it was tastefully executed. I actually thought they were advertising candy during the first few seconds. It only hit me after the TVC aired that it was an ad on condoms.
If I have any issue with the campaign, it stems from being a parent to a teenager and not as a marketing consultant.
The TVC's storyboard positioned the condoms rather quite casually - something that did not sit well with me as a mother although, as a marketing consultant, I get the point.
Had I been the one on board, I would've agreed to the positioning the product chose. After all, who gets in trouble frequently these days where sex is concerned? Of course, those with hormones all over the place and my teenager (despite all the hemming and hawing) is going through the same thing. I am not so ancient that I cannot remember what it feels like to be a teen raised in a Catholic home and going to school in a strict Catholic prep school where repression is the norm. So, yes, the ad is perfect where the marketing message targeted towards its market concerned.
As a mother, though, I have this thing about condoms being advertised oh so casually. Which is weird because I am the very same mother who bought condoms and a banana for her daughter when she asked me what they were. Needless to say, that little experiment has temporarily turned off all thoughts about sex for a while. Yippee! Well, wouldn't you feel disgusted when you see your mother trying to ram down a banana inside a condom and getting it all squishy? Really gross, I tell 'ya. I don't think I'll be eating bananas anytime soon.
I just felt that it made the condoms too available for these kids. In my sane mind, I know I'd rather have the condoms available anywhere and everywhere than end up being a grandmother before I'm 45. Still, the Mommy in me is having violent reactions.
I guess the Philippines is changing where social norms are concerned. So much so that even marketing practices are changing as well. What was once taboo can now be discussed on living plasma screens albeit very gingerly. As a people, we still don't talk about sex and sexual orientation as openly as the rest of the world probably does but, the fact that we can now utter the words over iced latte without gagging, is a step in the right direction.
As a marketing consultant, that makes my job easier. I don't have to get a migraine just thinking of ways to get around a subject that would make my grandmother reach out to me from her grave. For, in how many ways can you position sex without having the fear of God placed in your dark heart, right?
I think it's time we get that subject out in the open so we teach our children what sexual responsibility is all about. We are not teaching them to be promiscuous. But, it helps when they know what they're getting themselves into and the consequences of their actions. In the hands of a sensitive marketing strategist, now would be a good time to start doing that.
Kudos to Frenzy for being a brave soul.
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