An inspiring digital marketing campaign from Sweden. Do you think condoms kill the mood? Take a look at how this campaign completely flips that perception!
Creative Concept
A mobile app that measures pleasure metrics during sex (The Sex Profile: duration, rhythm, and volume).
Message
Condoms and safe sex are fun.
Objective
To educate people on proper condom use and change the perception that condoms are inconvenient or a mood killer.
Challenge
The campaign targeted young adults in Stockholm, Sweden, aged 20–30. According to LAFA (the Stockholm County AIDS Prevention Program), young people were becoming increasingly indifferent to regular condom use, leading to a rise in HIV infections. Although the numbers were still low, action was needed. Research showed the main issue was the belief that condoms are awkward and inconvenient. LAFA—a non-profit organization—set out to change this misconception, promoting the idea that safe sex and condoms can be enjoyable.
So how did they tackle these challenges?
They distributed 50,000 free condoms at parks, fairs, concerts, cafés, and bars—places where young people gather. Recognizing the prevalence of smartphones among youth, QR codes were printed on condom wrappers to encourage downloads of the mobile app "The Sex Profile."
To use "The Sex Profile," users would activate the app before having sex, and it would run throughout their intimate experience. The app first reminds users to use a condom, then records pleasure-related metrics such as volume, duration, and rhythm, along with the user's location.
Afterwards, users could upload their "bedroom performance" charts to the campaign website, entering details like age, hair color, and mood to create an anonymous profile. LAFA then aggregated, compared, and averaged these metrics to create banners, outdoor posters, bulletin boards, and even T-shirts for campaign volunteers, displaying the data throughout the city. Users could also explore "sex charts" of people with similar or different interests and moods. For example, comparing the sex lives of jazz fans versus rock lovers, dog owners versus cat owners, or blondes versus brunettes. The goal was to spark engaging conversations about condoms and healthy sexuality among young people.
Website interface featuring the "bedroom performance chart"
Results
The campaign’s creative peak—and its viral success—lay in how the agency Ester leveraged the data collected from the app.
By sharing this information on billboards and advertising boards all over Stockholm, Ester used playful and unique data insights to let the city know, for example, how many people around them had used condoms in the past week, or that dog owners were louder in bed than cat owners, or that recently, brunettes weren’t as “active” as before. These witty tidbits piqued curiosity, drew people to the website, and got not only young people but the wider community talking about safe sex awareness.
According to LAFA, the campaign helped young people adopt safer sexual practices through progressive education, breaking down the embarrassment around a sensitive topic. Since its launch in 2011, the campaign collected 5,900 "Sex Profile" reports. A follow-up survey showed that 39% of young people in Stockholm said they had a more positive view of condoms than before.
Marketing Lessons
Mobile marketing is the right choice when you want to reach young audiences.
Engage young people with humor and genuine understanding.
Profile data is a goldmine for marketing, and mobile marketing should go beyond just the app itself.
Even non-profit organizations can create breakthrough marketing campaigns.