Viva La Vulva is a love song to a part of us that doesn’t get enough love.
Set to the iconic track ‘Take Yo’ Praise’ by Camille Yarbrough, it’s a lip-sync music video with a twist, featuring hundreds of vulvas of every shape and colour, all singing loud and proud to the equally diverse women who love them back.
The film subverts multiple taboos around the vulva on the way: celebrating conch shells, messy oysters, juicy fruits, embracing the much-shamed camel-toe, and even Barbie makes a cameo, outraged she doesn’t have a vulva.
The film ends on behind the scene interviews of the cast, opening up about the issue, the shame, the ignorance and reclaiming their bodies.
Cultural / Context information for the jury
For centuries vulvas have been censored, objectified, and erased altogether in the name of ‘decency’. Meanwhile the recent explosion of porn has pressurised young women to believe their genitals should look a certain way: the myth of the ‘perfect’ vulva.
As a result, almost half of women feel embarrassed by their vulva, 7/10 don’t know what normal looks like, many demand a ‘designer vagina’ (labiaplasty is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world), or avoid cervical cancer tests out of embarrassment.
The intimate care category has historically been so clinical and euphemistic that it enforced these taboos - many women buy and use the products in shame, like a dirty secret.
Please tell us about the challenger brand and how your campaign challenged / was different from your competitors
Libresse is a global challenger brand (#6) known for period care. When launching into the intimate care category it was competing with far bigger and more established players. Their approach hasn’t changed for decades - either so clinical it makes women feel they have a problem, or so euphemistic it reinforces taboos.
Viva la vulva shattered all these norms. While others ran functional product ads we created a celebratory full-length music video. While others avoided vulvas we showed 450 of them. While others showed experts in white coats we showed a woman in beautiful vulva dress. While others cast twenty-something models we heroed women of all ages and body types. While others reinforced taboos, we confronted them head on with messy oysters and signing cameltoes. While others were silent about vulvas, our cast members opened up about them. While everyone else was dancing around the issue, we made it sing.