• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, September 25, 2023

Olly wants women to broaden the way they think about sexual wellness. The vitamin company is launching “Redefine Sexual Health,” an ad campaign designed to provoke social-media attention, trying hard to get the word "vagina" past digital gate-keepers.

The goal is shame reduction, and making everyone a little more comfortable with vaginal conversations, says Elise Crevier, vice president of creative for Olly. The campaign is a continuation of last year’s “Big Vagina Energy” effort.

“There is definitely a double standard,” she says, between the way marketers can talk about men’s and women’s anatomy. “We've had major pushback from platforms like Amazon, TikTok and out-of-home placements, where we’ve essentially been told we're not allowed to say vagina. It's taken as something that is pornographic and crude. And the importance of this campaign is to say, 'Vagina is not a bad word. Our vaginas are part of our body, part of our anatomy, and we should respect them.’”

The campaign, created with &Walsh, is running on connected TV, social media and with out-of-home placements.

Crevier says the effort fits within Olly’s core values, which include empowerment. The campaign supports the company’s collection of women’s products, with formulations like Lovin Libido, Happy Hoo Ha, Combat Cravings, and Beat the Bloat.

“And in the same way we want to de-stigmatize mental health, we got such a good reaction to last year’s campaign that we wanted to continue it.”

She tells D2C Insider that Meta’s platforms are a little more lenient, as is YouTube. “But most companies, sadly, are pretty anti-vagina.”

“We're still going to put those ads up and see if they get flagged, but our thing is always to ask for forgiveness versus not doing it in general because of these antiquated rules,” says Crevier, who joined Olly about a year ago from Thrive Markets.

She says the campaign's goal, besides selling vitamins, “is making women feel seen. We want to be a part of the cultural conversations that are happening right now. Coming off the tails of the 'Barbie’ movie, there are some super-delightful, empowering messages out there, and we want people to think we’re part of that. We hope they’ll say 'Olly is a brand that gets me and is supporting women's health.’ There just aren’t many mainstream brands that are doing that.”

As the company continues to build out the “Ollyverse,”  it is focusing on becoming a broader lifestyle brand and switching to more of a digital presence, she says.

The company started in 2015, developing a small range of products initially sold only at Target. It expanded to much wider retail distribution, as well as digital sales, and was acquired by Unilever in 2019. And Crevier joined with the mandate of further accelerating digital sales, “which have been growing in the double digits.”

With this campaign, as well as the company’s direct sales efforts, she says the goal is to let Olly’s personality shine through the crowded world of vitamins. “We want to be your trusted partner,” she says, “like an educated best friend. We’re your wellness wing person.”