Trojan's 'Fifty Shades of Real Pleasure' ad fails to get the brand connect

Fifty Shades of Real Pleasure
Directed by Laura Murphy

Trojan, a US condom brand, uses slapstick humour in its latest commercial. With a tagline — "Get out of the grey area, into 50 shades of real pleasure," the brand is trying to charm its target audience piggybacking on the worldwide success of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

We asked two adwallis - Shazia Shaikh group head, servicing, Digital L&K Saatchi and Saatchi, and Neha Gupta account director, Hakuhodo Percept their opinion on this piece.

Here is what they had to say:



Idea

Shazia Shaikh: The idea of highlighting the fact that couples go to lengths to keep the spark alive in their sex lives and Fifty Shades Of Grey shows them exactly how to get it back is an interesting take by Trojan. The brand has taken the tropical route smartly.

Neha Gupta: The modalities of a modern sexual relationship have been captured perfectly by Trojan through this film. Couples these days are eager to experiment and spice things up in the bedroom. But how this video becomes brilliant is because of its light-heartedness and seemingly total disregard for the book/movie and also the fact that how fickle 'keeping up with the joneses' of a relationship can be. It's actually hilarious. Especially for someone who is not a fan of the Fifty Shades Of Grey series.

Creative execution

Shazia Shaikh: The idea has a good insight, but the execution has been overdone. The message could have been established had the brand kept the storyline short, crisp and to the point. The concept has potential and the brand has managed to tap into some of them barring the parts like 'using safe words' and 'being mysterious and surprising'.

Neha Gupta: It is a well versed and rehearsed commercial. Good casting and pretty insightful as well. The mean Ninja and mother-in-law's name as a safe word is just beyond epic. The commercial does have a lot of well-captured nuances of a normal relationship while giving you a sneak peak at the individual quirks of the characters.

Brand connect

Shazia Shaikh: The brand does establish itself via the simple fact that the pursuit for pleasure does not need couples to get so dramatic or take inspiration from such works of fiction, but the truth in reality is they just need to be themselves and keep it simple (simple means using Trojan products).

Neha Gupta: I felt that the brand connect was weak; somewhere the wit was taking over the commercial. The product window was just by the way. It could have been for any other brand of condoms or lubricants. But I guess the intent of the video is more viral than anything, so the makers believed in taking that leap and placed the product just as a slap on at the end to make it look disjointed.

Brand recall

Shazia Shaikh: Consumers will certainly remember this ad. Pretty sure everyone who watches the movie and gets experimental might also think of this parody which will remind them that they might get as lucky as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. So let's just use Trojan.

Neha Gupta: Since the brand connect is weak, the brand recall might not be too high. That said, I will definitely not forget the brand name Trojan for different reasons of my own.

Effectiveness of the commercial

Shazia Shaikh: There is no doubt the commercial is effective in bringing out the humour and connecting it with the brand. Some parts like the one where they are trying to fix the sex swing are quite relatable. Everybody wants to do it but we don't know how! It's easier in the movies. There are parts that could have been left out / worked upon. The over enthusiastic counsellor and the ninja bit, for instance.

Neha Gupta: I feel it can go viral. I will definitely share it with my friends for a good laugh. Both the lovers and the haters of the Fifty Shades Of Grey phenomenon will like it for their own reasons. Not sure how many products this will sell, but it will definitely get people to notice the brand.

If you had to, how would you do it differently?

Shazia Shaikh: I would portray the counsellor as a sarcastic character rather than an over enthusiastic one, where her expressions could have made the ad more entertaining. Also I would show just 2 or 3 instances to keep it short and not stretch it too much. Like fixing the sex swing, a blindfolding or handcuffing that goes wrong; the kind of stuff couples would relate to more.

Neha Gupta: Being a servicing person and having it ingrained in me to do justice to the client's money, I would definitely have a better product and brand connect. Slip in some witty lines here or there to complete the brand story.