Now, this is provocation amongst British people. Will the ad raise smiles and eyebrows amongst the Dutch? I can’t see such an ad making it past the UK boardroom, but regardless of cultural audience, it surely required guts from the pharmaceutical company involved. (A little less of a gamble, perhaps, if it was intended not for the mainstream but as the viral it’s become.)  

Whatever the case, I feel vaguely duped by the message. Like I’m being dazzled with novelty so that I don’t think to question the strapline “Protect yourself everyday”.

The brief was to “overcome the perception among women in the Netherlands that Lacatacyd is for problems only”. I can’t find any data on this product and I don’t know what its active is.

Say what you like about “feminine cleansers” – unnecessary/ exploitative some say. It’s a simple thing: some people wash their face with soap and water, others buy facewash.

But protection? From what? Every day? I’m not sure whether to feel disappointed or personally alarmed.

Off to do some research.