Juniper Park\TBWA launched a new campaign for nonprofit Project Consent taking a direct approach to the issue of sexual consent. Very direct. As in, talking genitals (and also a hand, boob and butt). No drinking tea metaphors here.
In “Dancing,” a cartoon penis and vulva appear to be having a good time dancing. When the animated schlong prepares for entry, however, the vulva objects, to which the schmuck replies, “My bad.” Another spot shows a dongle whistling while getting behind a behind, who refuses the still-whistling tallywhacker’s advances. A third ad features a laughing boob and hand. There’s no dancing around the issues here, with the spots using their crude animation to show how consent works directly, while grabbing attention with the unusual visuals of animated genitals. In case the important message isn’t inherent enough, each spot ends with the very clear tagline, “Consent is simple. If it’s not yes, it’s no.” Print ads, such as one featuring a cartoon vulva saying “Only if my other lips say yes,” are similarly direct.
“If you look at other campaigns around consent, they tend to speak in analogies,” Juniper Park\TBWA chief creative officer Terry Drummond told Strategy magazine. “It’s always saying it’s like this other thing. But no, it’s not about those other things. It’s about sexual consent, and these are the most relevant characters in that conversation, so why aren’t we saying and showing what it is?”
“It’s simple and addresses consent without dancing around the topic,” added Project Consent founder Sara Li. “It makes it easier to talk about, like it should be, for students or teachers or parents. It should be approachable and direct and easy to see what is and isn’t appropriate.”
