A female's intimate area, the V-zone, has a deep-rooted stigma in Malaysian society.

The "Global V Taboo Tracker", a survey commissioned by Libresse, revealed that:

50% of Malaysian women will never speak about their V,

1 in 3 Malaysians felt sorry for the way their vulva looks, and

56% of Malaysian teens would rather get bullied than to talk about periods.

The lack of conversation and awareness of the V-zone has led to serious social issues like genital mutilation, sexual grooming, period spot checks in schools and more.

As a brand that champions V-zone confidence, Libresse wanted a packaging design idea that would get Malaysians talking about the V-zone to break the taboo, thus gaining users and brand love.

With a humble media budget of USD47,500, the idea needed to create nationwide impact. And the limited edition packs were rolled out across all retailers and eCommerce platforms.

Libresse’s core target are 18-25 year old, young women. They are inclined to challenging the status quo. They value their roots, but love giving culture and tradition a modern spin. The modern-retro vibe appeals to them.

Hence, we chose to reimagine the 'Nyonya Kebaya', an important piece of fashion that defined Malaysian culture. The Nyonya Kebaya was created in the 1920s, a period when women dressed to conceal their body. It was semi-transparent, lace-embroidered and has a tighter fit, which accentuated the female silhouette. It defied the conservative fashion which women wore, inspiring them to embrace their sexuality.

Working with local Kebaya craftswomen, we redesigned the two floral motifs which are unique to the Nyonya Kebaya - the Peony and Chrysanthemum. We had the vulva hand-woven at the heart of each flower.

That’s how the Vulva Kebaya was created to inspire Malaysian women to embrace their sexuality once again.

From the fabric to the floral design and embroidery technique, everything was kept as authentic as possible. The only difference was a vulva at the heart of each flower. The change was subtle, but the design was bold.

As all on-ground events were halted due to the pandemic, we got influencers to flaunt the fashion on social, rallying Malaysians to break misconceptions of the V.

The idea was further amplified by replicating the designs on packs which were sold nationwide.

It offended the conservatives in the community. But the larger nation, came to the brand’s defence, appreciating what the brand is doing. Even politicians, the country’s top influencers and celebrities like Daphne Iking and Zee Avi stood by Libresse.

It became the country’s most talked about campaign, trending on Twitter in Malaysia for a week. Packs flew off shelves as both women AND men bought them in support of Libresse.

We gained MYR326.25 million (USD78.4 million) worth of earned media from local and regional media. And for the first time in history, the vulva appeared on primetime news uncensored! All from just a media spend of MYR200,000 (USD47,500).

It trended on Twitter and remained in the top 10 topics in Malaysia for a week with over 65,100 tweets, hitting #2 spot, just below Squid Games.

Online sales experienced 9X growth within the 3-month campaign period.

(Shopee Sales Data)

Sales to the General Trade doubled.

(Market Share Data by Kantar Worldpanel)

Brand Health Tracker by Ipsos revealed that:

BRAND AWARENESS INCREASED BY 8% during campaign period.

PURCHASE INTENTION INCREASED TO 74% vs industry benchmark at 44%.

TRIAL RATE INCREASED BY 8% during campaign period.

‘BRAND THAT CHALLENGES NORM’ increased by 19%

‘BRAND THAT HELPS ME FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT MY V-ZONE’ increased by 18%