British Femtech Firm 'Tackling The Silence' Surrounding Women’s Incontinence With Surreal Animations
Executive Summary
British Femtech firm Elvie is using quirky animations to tackle taboos surrounding female incontinence and to advertise its pelvic floor trainer as an innovative wellness solution to this widespread but not talked about health issue.
UK-based femtech company Elvie has commissioned a series of surreal and amusing animations to tackle taboos surrounding female incontinence and to advertise its innovative Kegel pelvic floor trainer.
Elvie’s new campaign – which has the tagline/hashtag #freefrompee – consists of three short animations starring Bobo, described by the firm as a “kick ass, fun-loving woman,” who attempts to go on a series adventures with her sidekick, Bladder. However, every time they leave the house, Bladder loses control of himself and pees on the floor.
“Incontinence is a topic that very few women talk about. It’s hidden from view,” Elvie’s corporate and commercial president, Darren Goode, told HBW Insight. “Yet, with the right treatment, it can be solved in the vast majority of cases.”
“By using humor, and bringing the everyday effects of incontinence to life, we’re hoping that our message will empower more women to realize that incontinence is much more common than they would imagine, and that help is readily available,” he explained.
Based on a recent survey of 2,000 British women, Elvie said that one in two women in the UK had symptoms of a weak pelvic floor, such as peeing involuntarily when they laugh, cough, sneeze or exercise.
Mothers were particularly at risk of incontinence, the firm continued, with up to 80% of respondents reporting that they had been affected due to pelvic floor stretching during pregnancy, labor or C-section surgery.
However, two-thirds of women surveyed admitted that they “wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing their condition with their closest friends or family,” Elvie revealed, and 40% felt “embarrassed to discuss their pelvic floor issue with their doctor.” Even more significant, a “staggering” 72% of women had never sought treatment for their incontinence, the company added.
“Bobo represents every woman who lives with incontinence,” insisted Ana Balarin, partner at Mother, the creative agency behind the campaign.
"Our main objective with this project was to get women to understand that incontinence is a very common occurrence and that it need not be a taboo topic,” Balarin said. “By giving everyday activities like laughing, jumping or running to catch a bus the status of 'adventures', we created surreal but very relatable stories that will give women an excuse to start honest conversations about incontinence.”
Available to purchase via the firm’s website – www.elvie.com – and at major retailers John Lewis and Mamas & Papas at a recommended retail price of £169.00, Elvie Trainer is placed inside the vagina and is supported by a digital app that “gamifies” pelvic floor training via a series of five minute Kegel workouts.
Unlike other Kegel trainers on the market, Elvie said that its Trainer’s “cutting-edge patented technology” was able to detect “incorrect contraction” and could “alert the user to help them to improve their technique” and help them achieve results in “as little as four weeks.”