Talking Vaginas Ads Deemed Racist

Who knew that vaginas could be racist? Apparently, they can be. (There are so many dirty jokes just begging to be made here, but I’ll control myself.) Last week, feminine-hygiene company Summer’s Eve posted a series of ‘talking vagina’ videos on its website and YouTube, then pulled the videos earlier today after receiving complains that they are racially insensitive.

The videos, part of Summer Eve’s “Hail to the V” campaign by The Richards Group in Dallas, featured talking hands representing vaginas of various ethnic backgrounds. It wasn’t the subject matter that upset people but rather the racial undertones of these so-called ‘vaginas.’ There were three spots total each representing a different ethnicity (black, Hispanic and Caucasian) and you don’t have to be all that politically correct to see that they are beyond stereotypical. (You can see for yourself below.)

Richards PR executive Stacie Barnett told Adweek that the ads were meant to be “relatable,” not stereotypical. “Stereotyping or being offensive was not our intention in any way, shape or form,” she said, adding that the goal of the campaign is to educate women about their anatomy and break down taboos in talking about it. Barnett also told Adweek that that the videos was meant to be provocative but not racist.

What I find offensive is the fact these feminine hygiene products are geared towards women and yet somehow a group of creatives managed to get together and come with the idea of a talking vagina?! They couldn’t do any better than that? Look, I’m all for outside-the-box thinking (ha ha), but this is just juvenile. It actually reminds me of being a kid and the boys in my class turning their fists into ‘vaginas’ and then totally cracking up over it (we’re talking tweens here. Of course, now they’d be charged with sexual harassment).

Stephen Colbert parodied the campaign on Monday’s The Colbert Report with a talking hand-puppet penis, which was also juvenile but also kind of funny in light of the whole Summer’s Eve videos. Check it out here.

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