Saying “It’s for charity” doesn’t solve the problems in this ad.
As I said the other day in my post about breastfeeding, I’m all for advertising which normalizes bodily functions that we’ve historically seen as something ‘shameful’. And the need for adult diapers fits nicely into that category.
But this ad is beyond me.
The expository dialogue (“I know you don’t need them” and “Come on, it’s for charity”) seems like it’s been awkwardly squished in there; we never get told what the ‘charity’ actually is; and the ‘celebrities’ they’ve chosen are so far out of the demographic that they seem unrelated to the product. I’m left wondering whether they’re promoting figure skating, or charity, or Depends. The tight camera shots make the whole thing seem like it’s been filmed with a $23 budget, too.
Upon reflection, I considered that my mother (who is, given her age, presumably in the target demographic) does love figure skating, so perhaps using Isabelle Brasseur and PJ Stock makes more sense than I think. And I get that maybe the point is to show that you can wear Depends and still lead an active lifestyle. But why is the ‘charity’ never identified? Why are they putting the product on people who, as they say, have no need for it?
When I look at the comments on YouTube, and the other videos from this channel, I see that they’re trying to make the point that there’s no shame in trying on a pair of Depends – and, again, I think that’s a worthy goal. I just think that there must be a less awkward way to do it.