Durex's social campaign puns on 'protection' in times of lockdown

Wearing a mask is the new normal in 2020. Before, it would've been a cause for suspicion, but now, masks are a sign of protection. This is the theme of Durex Zambia's creative. They are punning on the 'protection' factor that masks offer, equating it to the protection that its condoms offer during sexual intercourse.

The creative makes perfect sense because when the HIV AIDS epidemic was spreading in 2006 - one of the ways of stopping it was the preventive act of wearing a condom. Sexual contact was one of the top modes of transmission for the HIV strain of viruses. To stop the spread of the coronavirus, wearing a mask in public is prescribed as the most effective step, seconded only to hand washing with soap and water.

Interestingly, a few weeks after the creative was published, a copycat version showed up on Manforce's Instagram page. They chose to use the tagline 'Protection comes first', to make the creative differ slightly from Durex's creative.

Since lockdown began, Manforce hasn't been very active when it comes to advertising, but it did publish an ad, shot in lockdown, for Father's Day. It portrays a couple in lockdown, getting frisky at every chance they get. The ad film makes a smart reference to their older campaigns - 'Shut The Phone Up' by visibly showing laptops and smartphones kept aside when getting intimate.