Ad of the Day: Venus literally erects ‘lady gardens’ as part of #FreeTheVulva campaign
Gillette Venus has literally erected ‘lady gardens’ in London to encourage healthy discussion around pubic hair as part of its #FreeTheVulva campaign.
The stunt has been devised to highlight the fact that almost half of UK women (47%) say they’ve been made to feel the words ‘vagina’ and ‘pubic’ aren’t appropriate terms to use in public.
Created in-house and placed in Shoreditch High Street and Mare Street – two bustling spots in London – the billboards are created from an array of colorful, real flowers installed by local florists. Each display shows different grooming styles to help break taboos so that women feel more confident talking about their pubic hair and skin.
Over the next two weeks, the ‘flower hair’ will grow in real-time for passers-by to see. “We believe pubic grooming shouldn’t be a taboo subject, but instead something we all feel comfortable to talk about in public,” insists Olivia Hughes, senior communications manager for Venus. “Whether hair is there, growing or gone, we want to help encourage and empower women to have open and honest conversations about their pubic areas, removing misinformation and tackling stigma at the same time.”
The stunt is part of Venus’s #FreeTheVulva campaign, where Venus has pledged to change the rhetoric around women’s pubic regions. It launched the push last month, where it dubbed May 12 as ‘Vulva Appreciation Day’.
To get people talking about personal grooming, it has brought out a humorous ode to the pubic hair. The attention-grabbing animation seeks to reclaim the word pube for polite society by banishing euphemisms, enabling people to overcome embarrassment around a taboo topic.
You can view the campaign in full by clicking on the box below. To get in touch about Ad of the Day, please email imogen.watson@thedrum.com.