Ouch

The title says it all and this is how I’ll sum up this ad, ouch. Now I know this is not a beauty or fashion related ad, but as I was flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine I came across this piece that just struck me as so bizarre that I just had to talk about it.

First of all, what exactly is a Diva Cup? For a seemingly unknown product, this ad doesn’t offer up much information other than the words “Say goodbye to tampons and pads” from this, I can only imagine what the product is used for. There’s also a tiny picture of the product in the bottom left-hand corner, it’s a questionable looking device which will probably prompt readers to visit the website (like I did) so there’s one thing going for them.

Then there’s this god-awful headline, I’m not even sure where to begin. The copy itself doesn’t make much sense, then there’s the overuse of exclamation points and the dreaded ellipses. If there’s one thing I learned from advertising school, it’s to never use ellipses in advertising. I’m sure there must be some exception to the rule but this headline is subject to no exception, it’s simply baffling.

Next, I need to address this poor woman’s facial expression who looks like she’s in excruciating pain (perhaps from the use of this product?). I’m not sure what the art director was going for here, excitement? Anticipation? Whatever the case, I don’t think the end result is a favourable one

Elle Canada, where I found this ad, is full of beautiful and sophisticated ads for designer brands like Chanel and Rolex who deliver works of art by award-winning photographers and creative directors. For some reason they’ve allowed this ad for Diva Cup to tarnish their pages. It just doesn’t seem fitting to me. Diva Cup really missed the mark on this one; hopefully their product doesn’t elicit as much pain as their ad does.