• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, December 14, 2016

Condom marketer Ansell, which makes the LifeStyles and SKYN brands, is launching a new global ad campaign called “Smart is Sexy,” designed to challenge clichéd and stereotypical marketing messages about sex and sexuality.

The campaign is launching simultaneously this month in the U.S., Brazil and Australia, with China and Europe kicking off the campaign in early 2017.

The campaign was conceptualized by Hamburg, Germany-based +KNAUSS Agency and executed in the U.S. by the AMP Agency.

Videos in the campaign were specifically designed to look like skip-able YouTube pre-roll ads and work with the Silent Autoplay Function in the Facebook timeline. One video starts off with a young woman saying that she prefers men with a big….and next word is bleeped out. That first scene almost appears to be an outtake as it’s followed with another scene just like it except the woman now states that she prefers a man with a big personality.

A similar video shows a woman commenting that she likes a man who makes her laugh a lot. She also admits she likes a man who makes her do something else frequently. The viewer can make an educated guess, although the actual wording is bleeped out. The videos end with the “Smart is Sexy” tagline.

In addition to traditional media channels, in the U.S., the campaign also features an interactive vending machine activation. It prompts users to answer five questions about sexual health in order to receive a free condom sample. Questions range from stats on sexually transmitted infections and contraception to the history of condoms. 

The machine debuted as a pop-up in New York City’s Washington Square Park in November before moving to the city’s iconic night club Webster Hall, where it will remain for about a month before traveling to various locations across the United States.

“The inspiration for ‘Smart is Sexy’ came directly from our key demographic, the millennial consumer,” stated Jeyan Heper, President & General Manager, Sexual Wellness Global Business Unit at Ansell.

“In various focus groups, millennials explained to us that self-confidence and sexiness are directly linked, and young adults need to ‘smarten up’ by recognizing  that sexiness does not only come from superficial beauty, physical exposure or sexual performance, but from feeling self-confident and sexy about yourself as you are.”