Kiehl’s wrote ads in pubic hair after pushback on its intimate care campaign
The L’Oréal brand finds a creative response to recent executions being ‘censored’ in store windows
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Kiehl’s has responded to complaints about showing a little bit of pubic hair in its ads—by showing a lot of pubic hair instead.
The L’Oréal USA personal care brand recently got into the intimate care space with products such as Ingrown Hair & Tone Corrective Drops and Over & Under Cream-to-Powder Body Deodorant. But it said recent ads for those products, featuring models whose pubic hair was visible, were “censored in select store windows.”
So, for a new round of ads, the brand wrote headlines entirely in pubic hair—in a font that the retailer is calling Pubic Display Type. The headlines include, “Our photos of models with pubic hair were censored, so we removed the models,” “Pubic hair don’t care” and “Apologies, we won’t show pubic hair ever again.”
Agency Marcel handled the creative.
The new ads are going live Wednesday across the brand’s digital platforms. The brand did not immediately respond to questions about where the original ads were censored, or by whom.
“Our response to the censorship of our Kiehl’s Personals imagery underscores our commitment to honest conversations about body hair, and our private parts, and challenging outdated societal taboos,” Jon Sáenz, Kiehl’s global brand president, said in a statement. “Pubic hair is a natural part of the human body, and there is no reason to feel uncomfortable with it. We believe in providing solutions for all skincare needs, without exception.”
Showing pubic hair has long been taboo in advertising. Various brands have pushed back on this over the years. A 2022 campaign from eos asked consumers to collect their pubic hair and donate it for good causes. A 2021 Gillette Venus campaign included an animated film starring a singing pubic hair.
See the original Kiehl’s ads below.
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