It's not every day, dear readers, that an editor lets me get away with the phrase "anally douche." Which is surprising, actually, given that I usually cover Vegas. Yet the other day I received a product sample and press kit I couldn't ignore. It came from the respected marketing firm Witeck Combs in DC, known for its ability to do outreach to gay and lesbian consumers.
The product is pictured above, a new Fleet enema for, essentially, recreational use. To which I first went, "Wow. Ew." And then I went, "Huh. Story." And so, here it is, my post for Portfolio.Com on the ins and outs of the decision by Fleet to pursue this new market of people who, as their phrase goes, "electively rectally clease." Get used to that. And brace yourself for some of the data in here about gay/bi men if you're bold enough to read it. Maybe wait until after lunch?
Here are the three ads Fleet starts using next month at a gay or general-interest health-related website near you. Portfolio only posted one or two of them, so here are all of them.
.jpg)
I'm debating putting my interview with brand manager Emily Klopp into the podcast feed. It's, uh, unique. She's a perfect professional and I am, indeed, every bit the 10-year-old you might expect. I'm also debating whether Fleet Naturals belongs on my desk alongside all the other goofy story-related tchotchkes that make up my haphazard career. Obviously, yes, but what will my cleaning lady think?
3 comments:
"And brace yourself for some of the data in here about gay/bi men if you're bold enough to read it. Maybe wait until after lunch?"
OMG!!! Some gay men enjoy anal sex and might want to clean up before hand. How shocking.
Please. Given the prevalence of anal sex in straight porn (do they make any without it anymore?) it's not anything you or most of your audience hasn't seen before.
Straight people can be such hypocrites about sex sometimes. To paraphrase George W. Bush, some of you hate us because of our freedom. The freedom to enjoy sex without shame or guilt and the freedom to express our true personalities, even if it doesn't conform to preconceived notions of how a man or woman is supposed to act.
But hey, straight people can enjoy those freedoms too!
Dear Claude: I'm gay. -sf
Back in the 70s I used to wear a button that said "How Dare You Presume I'm Heterosexual" Clearly a lesson I've forgotten in my old age! Sorry.
Sometimes it's nice to be wrong.
Post a Comment