Growing at an expected CAGR of 5.2%, the sexual health and wellness industry in India is opening up space for more nuanced, gender-sensitive, and educational advertising.
Getting the buzz out of bizarre, Bold Care’s recent ad campaign featuring Ranveer Singh with an unsuspected Johnny Sins put a much-required spotlight on the topic of sexual health and awareness in India. The satirical brand film could arguably go down in history as a redefining moment of how the ad world approaches the topic in this coy land of Kamasutra. It reinstates how this growing category, which has found a novel identity because of new-age D2C brands and the evolving sensibilities of mainstream players, is in the middle of an image revamp. From the old days of putting women at the centre of it, either to titillate the senses or putting the onus on them for family control to the new-age ads that are giving women more authority – a chance to claim their pleasure and comfort, we have come a long way. On the other hand, the hyper-masculine alphas are now being replaced by sensible and sensitive men. This story decodes the transition and rapid growth of the category.
Pop Culture Shifting Narratives
It’s almost like a déjà vu to the early 90s when Kamasutra condoms transformed the landscape with their risqué Pooja Bedi campaign, starting a whole cultural shift in condom advertising. Conceptualised by Lintas, the black-and-white prints featuring actor Pooja Bedi with several other sultry models, candidly captured passion and sensuality linking condoms with pleasure.
While this shift was scripted by economic liberalisation, the modern-day renaissance can be attributed to the content revolution in India due to the OTT industry. With mainstream movie makers approaching topics like erectile dysfunction with Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017), sex and intimacy issues with Dr Arora: Gupt Rog Visheshagya (2022), and female sexuality with Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), there is now a conversation around sex beyond recreation and hyper-masculine performance.
Viren Razdan, MD, Brand-Nomics highlights, “There is a heightened awareness when it comes to sex and sexuality, especially among the early-entrants (customers). If you look at the Netflix series Class, you can see this whole culture of young adults indulging in physical intimacy. And while this is not a new phenomenon (we had the Delhi Public School MMS case around a decade ago, showing that youngsters were sexually active even then), content creators and brands have started realising the potential this new category of buyers has.”
What About Bharat?
When the Bold Care campaign was making all the noise on digital platforms, a piece of baffling news from Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur was also creating great chatter. A newly married woman lost her life to grievous injuries that she received during intercourse with her husband, who reportedly took sex enhancement pills during their first night together. This raises an interesting question – is the sexual awareness movement limited to urban India only?
Razdan disagrees, “The sex enhancement and indulgence category has seen several companies focus on product development for the Indian market. Surprisingly, for several marketers, Bharat seems as bold as their counterparts in metros, if not more.”
According to Anupama Ramaswamy, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide India, “The problem in our country is the illiteracy about sexual wellness. People overdo it mostly because they are not aware, or don’t want to ask anyone, or are simply ashamed.”
Manisha Kapoor, CEO & Secretary General, ASCI suggests that brands must recognise the sensitivity of the topic and approach messaging with utmost care to bridge this demographic gap. “This is particularly important for educational campaigns that may be viewed by young adults. Messaging should avoid being distasteful, sexualized, or inappropriate for viewing. Instead, it should focus on providing accurate information, promoting healthy attitudes towards sexuality, and addressing relevant concerns in a respectful manner,” she says.
The Gender Dynamics
The gender dynamics of sexual health and wellness campaigns have always been quite lopsided. While the early-day government campaigns seemed to put the whole emphasis of family planning on women, the latter communications objectified women immensely. They suddenly became the vehicle of pleasure for the alpha-men – ever-enticing and sultry. The cutting male gaze of such campaigns kept women out of the discourse for such a long time that when a mainstream brand decided to address the concern, they were made the subject of crass online trolling.
It was in 2019 that Durex came up with its orgasm equality campaign called #ComeTogether. Conceptualised and executed by Havas Creative, the campaign used statistical and cultural truths to rally public opinion on women’s orgasms. The brand worked on digital platforms with celebrities like Pooja Bedi, Swara Bhaskar, Kusha Kapila, and Kaneez Surkha to spark conversations. While the campaign was a massive success in popularity, it also got a lot of negative responses with a certain section of the web calling out the brand for ‘corrupting Indian culture.’ Bhaskar too was widely attacked on social media for talking about sex and female desire so openly. The reaction was starkly different from what Bold Care and Ranveer Singh are getting today.
This raises an interesting question – has the audience since evolved or is it about women v/s men talking about sexual health?
Minhaz Fatima, Head of Brand Communications, MyMuse feels it’s the former, “The audience has certainly evolved. Earlier, brand communication used to be hypersexual, but now brands are talking about realities more naturally. These days there is more awareness and acceptance towards such topics. The Bold Care campaign has done it so well.”
With icons such as Ranveer Singh, who has become a mass favourite as the voice of female empowerment and desire, with his bold personality, films like Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, and now this campaign, things are expected to only go better.
Shaili Chopra, Founder, Gytree for Women’s Health & SheThePeople feels that while there has been an increase in the discussion around women’s pleasure and sexual health, there is still scope for improvement when it comes to brands active in this category. She notes, “Today’s health market is driven by the alpha male. We are trying to define male power through products. That is doing a disservice to why sexual products should exist. Brands should talk about sustainable long-term health benefits instead of showing products for immediate solutions when it comes to sexual health.”
What’s Next
The industry is quite positive and equally excited about what’s there in store for the category. The rapid growth and expansion of the sector are promising, but the regulations around advertising such products are troubling. The government of India banned the airing of sexually-explicit condom commercials between 6 AM and 10 PM on TV channels in 2017. The sale and advertisement of products such as sex toys are also regulated by obscenity laws.
Ramaswamy says, “Overall, advertising rules for the category are very stringent. Moreover, it’s such a taboo subject, so most advertising is not tastefully done. Sex isn’t shameful and we’d all stand to benefit from being able to talk about it with compassion, respect, and open-mindedness.”
Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group suggests that ads dealing with sensitive issues like this, need to commit to the problem instead of just promoting the solution. He further draws parallels with sanitary products like Stayfree, “India has an abysmally low penetration in this category and the taboo around periods is one of the main reasons for it. Over the last decade, Stayfree hasn’t limited its marketing efforts to product superiority alone but has encouraged conversations around periods. They’ve also partnered with UNICEF in running school programmes to educate both girls and boys on periods and work closely with Menstrupedia to help parents have the conversation with their children.”
Fatima ends by stating that one campaign or product can’t change a society which is still quite conservative about sex and intimacy, but it is surely a positive step in the right direction. Her only suggestion to other brands is, “We need to do away with the rampant male gaze present in the category.”
