Summertime and the living is easy…and everyone’s horny. It is no coincidence that summer is the season of love and lust; it is a scientific fact. But don’t just take our word for it; sexologist Dr Jess O’Reilly explains: “Sunlight has the potential to increase serotonin levels, which can boost your mood and leave you feeling more energised and frisky and warmer weather may increase attraction, as you’re more likely to bear skin.”
But what happens if you can’t be bothered to find someone to play with? Well, the good news is that Lovehoney’s timing is immaculate, as this week sees the brand continue its mission to take sexual happiness mainstream with a new TV ad, with a difference.
You see, for only the second time ever, the two-time Queen’s Award winner has secured multiple pre-9pm UK slots with a TV ad announcing the launch of sister brand Womanizer’s latest sex toy, Wave.
In 2011, Lovehoney made history as the first sex toy company to run TV ads and, since then, the brand claims to have been pushing boundaries and challenging societal norms to de-stigmatise pleasure and sexual wellness in the UK and beyond.
But the new ad, created by production agency Skylark, shuns the bump and grind to portray one woman’s “joyful and tastefully suggestive” shower ritual, showcasing the Womanizer Wave – claimed to be the world’s first 2-in-1 showerhead and clitoral stimulator.
The ad opens with a woman in a bathrobe opening a box as the voiceover states: “Time to spice up shower time. If you know you know.” The ad then switches to the woman in the shower, and, as the voiceover continues “Dive into new waters” the woman closes the shower curtain. The voiceover adds: “The Womanizer Wave. Discover your sexual happiness.” The ad concludes with the woman obviously “showered and refreshed”.
However, the product is never seen, nor is there a hint of flesh. The official blurb reads: “Wave’s launch acts as the perfect crossover product in sexual wellness – seamlessly combining pleasure and practicality, redefining the boundaries of self-care and luxury.”
The Wave ad made its debut this week and will feature on a number of pre-9pm shows, including The Big Interiors Battle, and has even aired during some morning programming on E4.
A Lovehoney spokesperson said that this is “another great step in the right direction for the normalisation of sexual wellness”, adding that “sex toys are becoming more accepted in the mainstream, recognised by these pre-watershed adverts, with the Wave the perfect toy for the occasion.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, first up we must congratulate the likes of Lovehoney for their work in turning sex into “sexual wellness” and banishing the long-held belief that there is something sordid and grubby about such a natural act.
And, to be fair, this ad says it all without saying – or showing – anything. Of course, it is bound to get complaints, there are still plenty of Mary Whitehouse wannabes out there; whether they will succeed, however, will be down to the Advertising Standards Authority. The question is, will it bend over?
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘squeaky clean’ 9 out of 10
