After 18 months of Covid-enforced celibacy, Durex had suffered plummeting sales and lost salience. In May 2020 they responded to lockdown with ‘Let’s Not Go Back to Normal’ to get people to challenge the sexual norms that have pervaded our society for so long. So when “Freedom Day” came around, it was their cue to embolden people with the opportunity to have safer, more enjoyable sex lives.

When the restrictions were lifted Durex wanted to encourage those who had been more concerned with the protection from facemasks, to have satisfying sex again. They therefore launched billboards celebrating the fact that for the first time since March 2020, people could have sex without having to consider limitations on their behaviour. The use of a condom wrapper tacitly reminds people to enjoy their rediscovered sexual freedom responsibly.

The creative rode off the back of our previous campaign during the pandemic, ‘Let’s not go back to normal’, which aimed to highlight unhealthy and sexist habits that had become sexual norms. Running a simple, tactical ad campaign at both OOH locations and on social media, helped to reinforce the message, that the brand is perfectly placed to allow people to have satisfying sex and to enjoy a rediscovered sexual freedom responsibly.

Durex, like many brands was hit hard by Covid restrictions over the last couple of years. After nearly 18 months of nationwide celibacy, the brand had suffered plummeting sales and risked losing relevance with our young audience; undoing much of the great work we’d started with the global rebrand in Feb 2020.

In May 2020, we’d responded to the initial lockdown with our campaign ‘Let’s Not Go Back to Normal’ a rallying cry to get people to use lockdown as a moment to challenge the sexual norms that have pervaded our society for so long.

This meant “Freedom Day” on the 19th July could act as our mark in the sand to embolden people with the opportunity to have safer, more enjoyable sex lives, and for Durex to cements its position as a relevant, credible and taboo-busting brand for today’s younger audiences.

There was a huge noise around “Freedom Day” and taking part in a national conversation means you need to be loud, straightforward and eye catching, with confidence in your brand and message. We designed a 48-sheet and social post that simply presented the word ‘Freedom’ inside Durex’s iconic brand lozenge and emblazoned on an enormous condom foil. The image was supported with the body copy: “It’s Here. Enjoy It.”.

We had limited time with our audience so simplicity was key. We wanted to mark the day as something to celebrate with a liberating and uplifting statement that underpinned what Durex stood for: liberation through responsible sexual choices. Our creative solution gave us a role in the busy news schedule and encouraged people to reclaim their sex lives and newfound freedom safely.

The work ran in national OOH sites, and on social media for 2 weeks from July 19th 2021.

The period during and immediately after the campaign saw a 9.2% increase in Durex condoms RSV and +57bps in Durex market share. The posters had 63% recall, which is 20% higher than the FMCG average. Most importantly, however, the campaign results in +7% increase in consideration of Durex condoms and 70% said that the campaign had changed their impression of Durex.