As it was a brand campaign, there were no restrictions.

Do Not Disturb was the first ever digital detox social experiment with couples.

The film that lay at the heart of the campaign documented the experiences of 6 real couples, flown to Sri Lanka for an idyllic holiday. 3 couples had to give up their phones, tablets and other devices. 3 couples got to keep theirs.

With hidden cameras across the resort, we captured the difference this made to both groups throughout the week. From play-fighting and flirting to sarcastic comments and arguments, the campaign acted as a fascinating inquiry into the impact devices are having on the intimacy of relationships.

As we anticipated, our cameras showed our tech-free couples looking at, playing with and touching one another instead of their screens. With no script and no storyboard, our fly-on-the-wall documentary didn’t just preach the benefit of turning off your tech and turning on to your partner. It proved it.

The execution of the Do Not Disturb film was more ‘real’ and authentic than anything Durex had produced before. It was also the most ambitious creative project the brand had undertaken.

With 22 hidden cameras positioned around the resort capturing the action over several days, combined with extensive interviews, we gathered 1000s of hours of raw footage. From this we created a 2m40s social video with a coherent and compelling narrative.

The YouTube campaign ran over a 3-week summer period across 25 markets globally. Several alternative narratives of the film were created, allowing us to quickly test and establish the best performing creative, and focus media spend accordingly.

In addition to the YouTube video, this ambitious social experiment formed the basis of TV advertising, PR activity, a webpage, social content and in-store promotional material.

The mini-documentary was viewed over 24 million times on YouTube. It also garnered huge press and editorial pickup around the world, totalling over 1.3 billion PR impressions.

Crucially, however, this social reach translated into real business results for Durex. The campaign led to market share growth versus the previous year in every country the activity featured, including:

- 6.5% in the UK

- 6.0% in Spain

- 6.9% in New Zealand

- 2.9% in the United States

- 8.3% in Greece

Do Not Disturb also had real cultural resonance. Hundreds of viewers proactively declared their intention to go tech-free to reconnect with their partner, and search traffic for “digital detox holidays” increased by over 40% during the campaign period, versus the preceding month. This suggests Durex was starting to be seen as an authority on relationships, with its finger firmly on the pulse of issues affecting couples in the modern world.

We looked for a behavioural obstacle to connecting with your partner that would resonate with couples across 5 continents – each with very different cultural views on sex and relationships.

As mobile technology plays an increasingly large and addictive role in our lives, it’s beginning to take its toll on relationships around the globe. Working with Dr Sharif Mowlabocus at the Centre for Sexual Dissidence at the University of Sussex, we sourced academic reports suggesting that couples spend more time per day looking at their phone screen than at each other.

This insight into modern relationships was a truly universal one, allowing our message to resonate strongly with Durex’s broad target audience of 24-35 year olds all around the world.

The mini-documentary film was seeded at scale on YouTube, where we knew our intended viewers would be more open to watching longer-form content.

Durex are synonymous with sex. But rather than just being about the physical aspects of a relationship, the brand wanted to associate itself with couples connecting on an emotional level.

The brief was to drive sales of Durex products, increasing the brand’s market share in 25 countries around the world over the summer period. It was imperative, however, to do so in a way that would help establish Durex as a trusted authority on relationships as a whole, rather than just the sex.