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From shaming women who carry condoms, to the one million preventable STIs that occur every day, Durex sees this time as an opportunity to reset sexual norms.
As countries around the world outline plans to ease lockdown restrictions and people begin to look toward some semblance of normality, Durex has encouraged people not to go back to normal – because normal wasn’t good enough.
Sector
Health & WellbeingAs of two months ago, we would’ve been hard pushed to imagine the world looking anything like it does today. Our ‘normal’ is no more. But perhaps, says Durex in its latest campaign, that is not always a bad thing. Maybe this enforced change, this lockdown will highlight that some behaviours that were once deemed normal, should be dismantled for good.
Created by Havas London, ‘Let’s Not Go Back to Normal’ spotlights the sexual ‘norms’ that were once so accepted in order to encourage people to reflect on the fact that normal just wasn’t good enough.
From shaming women who carry condoms, to the one million preventable STIs that occur every day, Durex sees this time as an opportunity to reset sexual norms. The campaign is centred around a powerful manifesto advocating for change: “Let’s not go back to normal. The world has never been so ready for change. So, let’s all change it for the better. For each other.”
The latest campaign comes as part of the brand’s new positioning devised by Havas London, ‘Challenge the norms’, which set out to position Durex as a mainstream activist against sexual taboos, stigmas and obsolete, non-inclusive beliefs. Instead the brand wants to show the ‘positive reality’ of sex.
Ben Wilson, Global Category Director, Sexual Wellbeing at RB, explained, “Everyone is talking about going back to normal. But nobody is questioning whether we should. Truth is, ‘normal’ is rooted in a lot of outdated conventions and when it comes to sex, we can do better. The current crisis is a unique chance to reset what ‘normal’ looks like, and we’re taking it upon ourselves to challenge that normal, because nobody should want to go back to a world that wasn’t working for everyone.”
The ongoing period of lockdown is giving us all time to pause and reflect, to rethink and reframe what we want our future to look like. Through this campaign, Durex are successfully doing the same for sexual health; ensuring that long-held stigmas are dismantled and people feel empowered to talk openly about the issues that matter to them.
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