Brilliance in Advertising

Ads are everywhere. I get it – Companies need to advertise somewhere to be able to sell their products and make a living. Personally, I find the majority of advertising to be boring. I prefer ads that are funny, or at least entertaining. Every once in a while, I see one that is just plain brilliant.

Valentine’s day is only a week away. Even if I had no calendar, I would have figured it out merely by store displays. I brought my daughter, Zoe, with me to the store to get her class some Valentine’s Day cards. We found the holiday section quite easily. In fact, it was the first thing we saw once we came inside the store. She, of course, wanted to browse the half-dozen rows filled with red and pink gifts, enormous boxes of chocolates, and stuffed animals as big as mastiffs. I let her browse til her heart’s content. She oohed and aahed at all the cuteness she wished she could get for herself.

While my daughter was distracted by holiday antics, I walked to the end of the aisle and came face-to-face with a five-foot tall display for lubricants and condoms. I smiled at the marketing brilliance of whoever decided the placement of that ad. Because, truly, on a holiday that all but guarantees romantic intimacy – sans arguments – the smart partner would doubtless come prepared.

Since we were also buying a birthday present for a friend, I asked Zoe to search the next aisle for tissue paper. I then quickly took out my phone and snapped a picture of the display. While the idea of the display placement was, in fact, utterly brilliant, I thank my lucky stars that my daughter didn’t see it. I don’t need any help finding uncomfortable topics of discussion.

Quite possibly the only reason my daughter didn’t notice the ad was because she was blind to anything that wasn’t pink. I empathize with the less fortunate parents whose children might see that add and loudly ask, “what’s a condom?” in the middle of a crowded store.

My suggestion to the advertising department would be to consider not putting it ground-level, but perhaps only eye-level to those 5-foot tall and up. If my daughter happens to notice any ads like that in the near future, I plan to simply tell her it is an adult word and will tell her about it when she is older. Meanwhile, to those selling the adult products near Valentine’s Day gifts, touché. To those buying the adult products near Valentine’s Day gifts, mazel tov.