Public health campaigns often use scare tactics to change behaviour. But as a brand that strives to connect with people on a human level, Durex took a more positive approach.

We wanted to focus on what matters to them. Young people want to be the best sexual experience their partner has had. For years, girls thought suggesting a condom was a buzz kill. Turns out the opposite is true. Suggesting a condom is attractive. It says “When it’s on, it’s on.”

In our hero film we invited real girls to talk about sex and then, through a specially set-up

two-way mirror, they heard what guys really thought. Guys want a girl who wants a condom. This was a huge revelation.

Seven shorter films followed, each revealing a different misconception and inspiring people to question, why wouldn’t you use a condom?

We needed an effective way to maximize our reach with 16-24 year olds. We had uncovered revelations that we knew could make a difference.

The campaign launched on YouTube and Facebook with the lead film that tackled the key revelation - women who have the confidence to suggest a condom are attractive.

It was followed by seven short provocative films tackling other relevant misperceptions that deter condom usage, such as invincibility from STIs, unreliability of withdrawal, carrying a condom, the prevalence of HIV, and more. We partnered with Buzzfeed to create additional articles and videos that helped spread our message.

PR supported the campaign with coverage across key online broadcast channels as well as radio interviews with the real young men and women from the Durex films to talk about their experience.

The campaign was launched in November 2015 across Europe and will continue to run in 2016

Our hero film has over 2 million views and counting. The revelations exposed struck a chord, and the campaign got a lot of coverage. From the Independent to the Huffington Post, we had a combined reach total of 607.2 million.

As a result of the campaign, more young people are now buying condoms. In the last month alone, condom penetration rose by 5% amongst 18-25 year olds.

This campaign grew the condom category. More condoms are now being purchased and used on more sex occassions. WIthin the first three months, the category grew by 6.2%, driven by a 16% increase in Durex condom volume sales.