Spot the Hoo-Hoo: Vagina Imagery In Advertising

By: John Barker
Clever Ads, Promotions and Marketing
InventorSpot.com

In "Can You Spot the Weenie? 10 Subtle Ads Crave Your Attention" I offered a glimpse into the use of phallic imagery in advertising. While some of the examples were quite subtle, others slapped you in the face. Not literally, of course.

Now it's time for a brief look into the other side of sex in advertising: the vagina.

For some odd reason I thought it would be difficult to find ads that utilize this aspect of female anatomy. But I was wrong. Oh, so wrong.

Turns out that as an eye-catcher, the "Hoo-Hoo" is used even more than the "Weenie." What you'll see below is just a hint of what's out there. I'm gonna start tame... but I would probably send the kiddies out of the room if I were you.

Vagina Image # 1: Suva

Porn for Terminators and Robocop

Okay, I understand that this ad is trying to make the top of the helmet look like the scary mask from the Scream movies. And it succeeds. It also succeeds in looking like a robot's vagina.

Vagina Image # 2: Playboy

Yeah, big surprise. Playboy Magazine. Of course they're not remotely trying to hide what their product is.

I find this ad quite clever in showing the way that hair styles have changed over the past three decades...

Vagina Image # 3: Tara Magazine

The tagline reads "The Magazine with more inside." In this case, the more is an impaled voodoo doll, a picture with the boyfriend scratched out and... I dunno... a plane ticket maybe? All of this nestled quietly inside an unzipped blue jean vagina.

I hope my girlfriend doesn't have all of that stuff in there...

Vagina Image # 4: Anti-Rape Ad

My Spanish is insanely rusty (I remember how to say, "My pencil is yellow," though I can't remember how to write it...), but I think this is a "stop the violence/rape" ad from the USAID, Red Nacional de Mujeres, and Union Europea.

If so, it works. The image is evocative of something being ripped and torn, though why they chose the metallic color scheme is odd. I could make a joke concerning Image # 1, but even I'm not that callous.

Vagina Image # 5: Energizer

The whole idea of this is to show how long Energizer batteries last. If I recall, this brand wasn't even around when batteries were that cheap.

It took me a moment to understand the gist of the ad; I was too distracted by the blatant "subliminal" use of the Hoo-Hoo.

I don't know about you, but I've never torn open a pack of batteries and left that shape. Ever.

Vagina Image # 6: Act Up Paris

I think I dated her once...

Hmmm... What's missing here? I guess genetically engineering women with no Hoo-Hoo would be one solution to reducing the spread of AIDS. A little extreme, perhaps? Yeah. I think so, too.

Vagina Image # 7: Dior

Um... yeah. I dunno where to go here... I'm even a little uncomfortable...

Vagina Image # 8: Lactacyd

Okay, so in this case we, the viewer, are the vagina. Whoever came up with the idea to shoot a commercial for feminine hygiene products from the point-of-view of the Hoo-Hoo itself deserves an award.

Vagina Image # 9: Children of Chernobyl

This ad is designed to raise awareness for prenatal health control. While I find it absolutely beautiful both in execution and design, I don't quite understand the context. We all know about what happened in the Chernobyl area after the nuclear accident. But what does an apple-vagina have to do with it?

Perhaps some meta-text concerning how "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," so move the hell away from Chernobyl? Or a Christian reference to Eve and the Apple? Or recommendations on what I should pick up at the market tomorrow?

I'm confused.

Vagina Image # 10: Pro-Choice/Anti-Abortion

C'mon, little fella. We won't bite.

You can't get more blatant than this. Well, okay. After some of the other ads above, maybe you can.

At least it doesn't cross that line that some anti-abortion campaigns love to tinker with. You know, the ones with the potentially crazy old lady carrying around a stick with bloodied baby limbs dangling from it? If you've never seen that, you're in for a treat. They usually hang out downtown near the library.

I rather like this ad - though I'm not sure I like the sinister look on the kid's face...

SOURCE: Ads of the World