Never let it be said that we are only interested in what goes on in London. Unlike our lesser rivals, we cover businesses all over the country; from Bath, Bristol, Brighton and Bolton, to Manchester, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Norwich, we’ve got your back.
But this week we’re going even further and reaching out to our readers Down Under. That’s right Lara, Stuey, Joe, Dave & Co, this one’s for you (we’ve even published it early so you can read it first).
You see, while the world has looked on in horror as the “land of opportunities” is ravaged by wild fires, storms and plagues of locusts (OK, we made the last one up but you get our gist), it appears that there is a much more serious pandemic – young people are having less sex than their parents. Yep, you read that right. YOUNG PEOPLE AREN’T GETTING ANY.
Enter Four Seasons Condoms and CHE Proximity, quite literally, to launch a major new ad campaign in an effort to tackle the so-called “Millennial Sex Recession” from top to bottom.
With statistics revealing that young adults are having 50% less sex than their parents, the “Generation Intervention” campaign is urging young adult Aussies to get back in the sack and have safe, healthy sex. How? Through interventions from true “sexperts” with years of experience – parents – apparently. Sounds pretty desperate.
Still, as the blurb states: “At the heart of the campaign lies a Generation Intervention Pack, a limited-edition educational kit designed to equip parents to be surrogate-sex therapists and to facilitate an intervention with their adult children. For a limited time only, Four Seasons Condoms will be giving away packs for free, to parents wanting to stage interventions.”
The pack was created in collaboration with sexologist Jacqueline Hellyer and contains a pamphlet which details the many challenges that young adults face today and the reasons why they may not be getting lucky in the bedroom.
It also includes 52 Ice Breaker cards for parents to help kick-start the conversation with their offspring, with the aim of helping them to navigate the world of modern dating and the understand the mental benefits. Quite what parents know about modern dating is another matter.
The campaign introduces the intervention as “The Talk 2.0”, a second opportunity for parents to check-in on the wellbeing on their adult children and discuss the social and emotional issues that may be affecting their libido.
Once “The Talk 2.0” takes place, parents are encouraged to hand over the pack and its contents so they can be used by their adult children. Each pack contains three sizes of condoms from the Four Seasons Naked range, lubricant, female pleasure gel and a vibrating toy – any of which could be met with an awkward silence.
However, Four Seasons Condoms sales and marketing director Michael Porter reckons it is not such a stiff challenge. He said: “Low libido can be an indicator of a wider problem and there’s no one better equipped to have this conversation than parents. Although they may not know it, they are the experts.”
Creative will roll out across social media and outdoor sites and the campaign is also being supported through an influencer and PR campaign executed by PR agency, Attention + Influence, alongside a campaign hotline which will be manned by parents trained in how to have “The Talk 2.0”.
CHE Proximity Sydney executive creative director Wesley Hawes seems cock-sure it will work. He said: “Australia’s lowered libido can be linked to a range of factors including social media, dating apps, Netflix, pornography, alongside societal pressures and mental health challenges. While younger generations might be sending more nude pics, the reality is, young adults are having far less sex than any other age group.
“With this campaign we wanted to tap into an unexpected, yet knowledgeable resource – parents. As a result, we’ve engaged mums and dads to help us promote the campaign. From parents of influencers to everyday parents who will operate our hotline.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office? Will “The Talk 2.0” get those young adult Aussies off social media and into the sack? Will the “wank” of mum and dad do the trick? Will the country burst out of the “Millennial Sex Recession” and get down and dirty?
Well, you never know but the only Aussies we have ever met have been hard at it all the time, so quite why this generation have gone limp is a mystery.
One thing that is for sure, however, is that no-one wants their parents’ advice on how to get it on. For the country’s sake we hope we’re wrong, but, ultimately, we can only see this campaign being a massive flop in the bedroom.
The Generation Intervention Pack’s quite cool though…
Decision Marketing Adometer: a semi-hard 7½ out of ten (well, it might not be the best, but we love the Aussies)
