Normalizing Pleasure. Celebrating Play.

Lubricants have historically been marketed as a solution to a problem. Durex Play Pleasure Gels needed a new narrative — one that reframed lubrication not as a fix, but as an enhancement. The opportunity was to shift perception from stigma to spontaneity.

The Insight

Early relationships are electric. Every touch feels new. Over time, spontaneity becomes reserved for special occasions. We saw an opportunity to empower younger couples to stop waiting for “the right night” and instead create it.

Why Wait?

We launched Why Wait?, a national, multi-channel campaign encouraging couples to make any night a “Durex Play Night.”

At the center was Play, Eh? — a cheeky, self-aware film that leaned into Canadian identity while celebrating the fun side of intimacy. Through humor and cultural references, the film demonstrated how Play Pleasure Gels could help couples rediscover novelty without shame or apology.

The tone was bold but self-aware. Provocative, yet grounded in the belief that a healthy relationship includes open conversation and spontaneity.

Extending the Experience

The campaign moved beyond film into real-world activation.

Durex Play Nights summer concerts gave couples the chance to win VIP experiences, reinforcing the idea that spontaneity extends beyond the bedroom. An on-site gamified activation, the “Naughty Name Play Game,” invited couples to engage playfully with the campaign’s creative concept.

Cross-platform social, influencer partnerships, contextual placements, and DurexPlayNights.ca drove traffic and conversation, ensuring the message reached couples where they already connected.

Impact

When the campaign landed, it travelled.

Launching on Canada Day, the hero film quickly garnered millions of views and ignited conversation nationwide. The work was picked up by major cultural and lifestyle outlets including Complex, GQ, GQ Italia, and Cosmopolitan extending its reach far beyond paid media.

What began as a national launch became a cultural moment, reinforcing Durex Play as a brand confident enough to lead the conversation, not follow it.

We didn’t sell a solution.
We celebrated play.

Year two: shattering clichés

After the success of Why Wait?, Durex returned the following Valentine’s Day with a sharper point of view.

Instead of celebrating the usual tropes — chocolates, roses, predictable date nights — we challenged them.

Shatter the Clichés reframed Valentine’s Day as something couples create for themselves, not something dictated by tradition. The work poked fun at the expected gestures and positioned intimacy as the real upgrade.

Same core belief.
Stronger tension.

By building on the established platform, the brand moved from encouraging spontaneity to actively dismantling the rituals that often replace it. We successfully reinforced Durex Play as a modern expression of connection, not a seasonal accessory.