Lion's Den Reimagines Sex for Everyday Women

Driving past adult superstores perched along stretches of highway in Middle America (I’ll pass countless such establishments on my drive from Texas to Minnesota this Christmas), one typically sees advertisements that depict the kind of over-the-top sexuality that isn't in step with what most women look like, or what they are looking to bring into the bedroom. One sex toy retailer, however, has been working to evolve its marketing by partnering with one of the industry's more progressive agencies. Since 2017, women-owned creative agency Fancy has been leading a modern rebrand and inclusive marketing push for Lion’s Den, an Ohio-based 45-store chain that’s been around since 1971. The first ad campaign from the new era of Lion's Den includes sex-positive and women-friendly spots featuring actors who are just as normal and awkward as the rest of us. The campaign encouraged women and couples to “Do it. Every day!” [kickout id="1" label="Lion's Den Fancy Book Club"] For the follow-up campaign launching today, Fancy co-founders Erica Fite and Katie Keating, who were both honored in Adweek's 2018 Creative 100, wanted to push the idea of daily sexual pleasure and who can have it even further. "If you look at everyday life through that lens, it’s not about perfection,” Fite said. “It’s about having fun, enjoying yourself, doing something that makes you feel good and healthy and alive—and that’s the lifestyle of Lion’s Den.” The new spots, ready in time for the holiday season, feature three seemingly everyday scenarios: stopping at the library for a book club, cleaning up after dinner and driving home in a minivan. But the characters manage to sneak in a bit of extra fun. This is also the first time Fancy's ads for Lion's Den have featured a same-sex couple. Elements of the campaign will run on linear television, streaming, digital channels and social media. [kickout id="2" label="Joy Ride Video"] “We’ve been working with Fancy for three years to change the perception of our company and make Lion’s Den a top-of-mind destination for women and couples, and the response has been incredible,” said Pete Potenzini, director of marketing at Lion's Den, in a statement. “We’re confident that this new campaign, which asks people to reconsider every everyday moment as an opportunity for fun and connection, will encourage even more people to feel comfortable shopping at Lion’s Den.” [kickout id="3" label="dinner"] For Fancy, the work with Lion’s Den remains bigger than just selling products and generating foot traffic. The team also aims to “normalize this whole part of our lives that’s been sort of hidden and shameful in ways for women in the past,” Keating said. Or, as Fite put it succinctly, “It’s a public service.”

AdFreak

Lion's Den Reimagines Book Clubs and More in Its Quest to Celebrate Women's Pleasure

Agency Fancy continues the chain's sex-positive marketing

Kathryn Lundstrom

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Kathryn Lundstrom