Great Ad 18: Tulipan Rabbit Ads

Do read my previous post on Durex Extra Safe Stork Ad if you have not so that you can join us in deciding if you like the stork condom ads better or this condom series from Tulipan.

Advertising Agency: Y&R, Buenos Aires, Argentina

These Tulipan condom advertisements were released on Spring Day, a.k.a. Students Day, in Argentina. Spring Day is where young hot-blooded kids make merry with outdoor activities like camping and hiking with their friends and classmates. This is the marked period where many unexpected surprises were conceived.

Both series have a large dominant illustration that tells the whole story. Durex Extra Safe has no words while Tulipan promotes “Fun Now, Kids Later”. If you follow the conversations at Ads of the World, many industry folks were of the opinion that these 4 words were superfluous and redundant. I tend to agree. It is common knowledge that rabbits multiply rapidly and frequently. The connection between rabbits and condoms is therefore instant and the association is incredibly funny. Australia is often said to be overrun by rabbits because they produce and reproduce faster than one can catch them to make into rabbit pies. When there is no text, the ads will leave the audience with a wide grin. Yeah, it is funny just thinking of Tulipan condoms preventing broods of bunnies bounding up and down. With the 4-word copy, it gives rise to unnecessary connotations. What else can “Fun Now, Kids Later” mean?

I cannot help but wonder if Tulipan realises that it has, like it or not, endorsed promiscuous sex. Encouraging sex to sell more condom does not really seem like a responsible corporate behaviour. Worse, if the ads are targeted at young people, it borders on irresponsible corporate advertising.

Comparatively, the Stork advertisements did not suffer from such unfortunate and negative connotations.

So why did Tulipan have the words? Honestly, I have no idea. I hope it’s not because Tulipan was concerned that the public will not understand the connection between rabbits and condoms. I have had clients who doubt of the intelligence of their own target audience so much so that they wanted the obvious to be stated. Whatever it is, the Durex’s stork and Tulipan’s rabbits shared a few common traits – Nice picture, great analogy, few or no words, and dubious ad effectiveness. Both series are visually attractive and they are undoubtedly useful in building awareness of their brands. However, increased awareness does not always equate to increased sale. I don’t have any figures to substantiate that sale volumes did not increase by leaps and bounds. To me, these are just nice advertisement, they lack the killer punch to deliver a killer impact to make a sales killing. Nice ads that don’t sell are pretty useless, pun intended.

Still, I like the digital art and I enjoyed the laugh.