"You can use sex to sell anything, except if it's women's pleasure."
That's how Stephanie Keating, marketing manager at WOW Tech Group, describes her frustration at the often-unwritten rules of advertising that keep sex toy ads from appearing in public. Given that
her company produces high-tech gadgets aimed at helping women enjoy sexual fulfillment, it's understandable why she feels like she's been waging an uphill battle in the name of sex positivity.
But for the moment, she's enjoying a rare moment of victory thanks to the company's newest ad, a Toronto billboard with one of the best pieces of copywriting in recent memory: "Scream your own name."
Designed by
Canadian agency The Garden, the billboard has so far survived three weeks alongside one of Toronto's busiest highways (the QEW at the 427), and the agency says that sets an endurance record for ads of its kind in North America.
Such advertisements, centered on women's pleasure, are often turned down by ad placement companies, despite what Keating sees as a double standard that has made men's sexual-health ads commonplace
