Church & Dwight is aiming to show that age doesn’t make intimacy any less important.

Its “Sex Never Gets Old” campaign for vaginal moisturizer and lubricant Replens, captures moments of closeness between diverse seniors, in a competitive set that’s typically been more clinical and functional in its approach, according to Cheryl Ho, brand director for personal care brands at Church & Dwight Canada.

Ho tells strategy that Replens has historically focused on product functionality in its marketing and healthcare partnerships. In the last few years, however, Ho says messaging has shifted to focus on the emotional impact vaginal dryness has on women and intimacy with their partners. That insight has largely affected its overall approach across PR and marketing activity, which has led to the discovery that there is a taboo around discussing that impact. The goal now is to break down that taboo by also ensuring women know there are options, irrespective of age. 

“What we’ve historically found is that this [older] demo is often forgotten, so there’s also room for brands to grow and adapt how we communicate with these individuals,” Ho explains.

According to a recent University of Toronto/St Michael’s Hospital study of 500 respondents over 50 published in the Canadian Journal of Aging, 39% of participants overall indicated that they were sexually active. And research has revealed that despite a similarly high prevalence of sexual problems in men and women, women are less likely to have discussed sex with a physician, citing negative societal attitudes about mature female sexuality.

The concept launched in London to drive visibility and awareness in an aging U.K. market, relying predominantly on OOH, organic social and PR support. The Canadian campaign, by contrast, is a bit more of a fully integrated effort, which also includes earned media support through content like having fertility specialist Dr. Marjorie Dixon on Roger’s Cityline.

The campaign also includes a first for the brand: three digital out-of-home creative assets which went live in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square.

Replens and Church & Dwight Canada, maker of brands such as Trojan and Nair, have been working with Forsman & Bodenfors for over a decade. For this specific campaign, Ho says the ask for the agency’s Canadian office was to adapt the U.K. assets to feel more relevant to the Canadians.

“Knowing our objective, we focused on digital out-of-home to get as much visibility across our target consumers and help Canadians find opportunities to have a dialogue on the issue and normalize it,” Ho says, adding that the market is growing steadily as more women become familiar with the products.

According to Ho, in comparison with prior years, its ad spend has almost doubled to support this campaign.