My wife was watching a Lifetime movie that I've already forgotten the title of the other day. What I can't forget, however, is that during every single commercial break of this two-hour movie there were at least two different commercials for various feminine hygiene products. I understand that the Lifetime demographic is the right audience for these ads but at the same time don't you think there's a limit to how often a woman wants to think about her most intimate area's cleanliness while watching a movie?The women I know actually have quite a wide variety of interests beyond yeast infections and Vagisil. In fact, those things almost never come up in conversation. I don't even think Lifetime should stop airing the commercials, because I'm told it's important stuff, but let's throw some variety in there, too. If Spike TV was airing condom commercials twice a break in the middle of the day I'd think they were obsessing a little bit too. You care. That's sweet. We get it, now how about reminding me of what really matters. McDonald's has "Hugo" size drinks for a dollar!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2009 @ 2:53PM
DanGarion said...
HAhah Hugo! Cause he's fat...
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6-30-2009 @ 3:39PM
GigG said...
What other TV network is giving you close to 100% target market for a TV commercial?
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6-30-2009 @ 4:09PM
am_hollitz said...
@Jason Highes "The women I know actually have quite a wide variety of interests beyond yeast infections and Vagisil."
Obviously the product is intended for use by women and Lifetime delivers this demographic reliably. But cornering the market on feminine hygiene means reaching everyone, including those in the secondary demographic: e.g., married men who care about their wife's well-being, married men who are cheating on their wife and are afraid of being caught (after passing along something unpleasant), gay men who console their married female friends when they find out their husbands are cheating on them, etc.
The key to reaching the secondary demographic is not through message quality, but quantity. Think about it. After just 2 hours of passive observance (i.e., you didn't say you were watching the movie with you wife, so I assume it was just background noise for you), you know the product name Vagisil and you know what it's for. If your wife ever asked you to run to the store to find it, you probably also know what the box looks like. If your wife didn't ask for it by name, you would likely opt for this product over similar products because it's the name you know (and trust).
Everything in advertising is done for a reason...
And remember, if Vagisil didn't advertise every other commercial, you'd be bombarded with a solid three minutes of Gyne Lotrimin propaganda at every commercial break.
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6-30-2009 @ 8:28PM
RobynM said...
Just think of it as the female equivalent of later-evening CC commercial breaks, which consist of 2-3 ads for Girls Gone Wild and a similar number of spots for "male enhancement" products, with the occasional fingertip "personal massager" spot thrown in for the ladies.
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6-30-2009 @ 9:27PM
Jojee said...
My 9 year old daughter and I were watching Lifetime (A Sunday afternoon marathon, of course) and she asked if we could buy some Vagisil because "it says it works on itches" and she had some mosquito bites. I told her to go look it up on the internet. The look on her face when she came back to the room was priceless!
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7-02-2009 @ 9:06AM
C.A. said...
I agree with this article, and what's with all the beer ads during the Superbowl?
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