Film > Culture & Context

VIVA LA VULVA

SOMESUCH, London / LIBRESSE / 2019

Awards:

Silver Cannes Lions
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Film
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Overview

Credits

OVERVIEW

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

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 a beautiful diversity 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 on the way: oysters, conch shells, juicy fruits, cupcakes, the infamous camel-toe that women get regularly shamed for, and we even see Barbie popping up, anxiously looking for her genitals.

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

A toxic cocktail of historical prudery and censorship around women’s genitals, and the recent explosion of porn, have pressurised young women to believe their genitals should look a certain way: the myth of the ‘perfect’ vulva

The intimate care category had historically been so clinical and euphemistic that it enforced these taboos - many women bought and used the products in shame, like a dirty secret.

As a result, almost half of women (44%) admit they feel embarrassed by their vulva, many women ignore what normal looks like (7/10), demand a ‘designer vagina’ (labioplasty is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world), and millions avoid cervical cancer tests over embarrassment, putting their health at stake.

We set out to demolish the conventions of the category and dynamite the myth of the perfect vulva. All to show that there’s only one perfect vulva: Yours.

Please tell us about the challenger brand and how your campaign challenged/was different from your competitors

In 2018, Libresse, better known for period care, expanded into intimate care, intent on bringing the same taboo-breaking spirit as with Bloodnormal for periods.

We found two profound issues:

A toxic cocktail of historical prudery around women’s genitals, and the explosion of porn, have pressurised young women to believe their genitals should look a certain way: the myth of the ‘perfect’ vulva

The intimate care category has been so clinical and euphemistic that it has enforced these taboos - many women buy the products in shame, like a dirty secret.

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’ (labioplasty is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world), or avoid cervical cancer tests out of embarrassment.

We set out to demolish the conventions of the category and the myth of the perfect vulva.

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