A cleansing cloth before I hit the club?!!!! First, what the HAIL do they think happens in my underwear that I need a shower AND constant cloth wipes?!!! Two, what club do they think I go to that my vagina needs to be cleaned before I enter? Do they think R&B clubs have vaginal wanding? That's black erotic fantasy to the extreme. And a cactus? Really? A CACTUS?!!!

How many times do we have to tell the advertising industry women do not equal
vaginas, or boobs, or legs, or any other randomly-chosen sexified body part? Also, the best way to "show a little love" to your "cradle of civilization" certainly doesn't involve using an unnecessary product that can increase your chance of pelvic inflammatory disease - which could render your vadge and its accompanying helper-parts incapable of cradling said civilization.

So glad you covered this one.  Thanks!

Entirely cringeworthy, yes.. but if I'm stuck in an airport for a layover I will indeed be thankful as hell for a wet wipe and clean underwear. 

I saw this at the HP movie too!  A large group of middle-aged adults were sitting nearby, and they all let out uproarious laughter about the absurdity of the commercial.  It made me very happy.  Not sure about the tweens in the audience, though.

Well, I guess they covered all their bases with the stereotypes there. 

Now do you keep those in the same bag with the loo plume spray thing from a while back so that what comes out doesn't stink either? 

Oh, yes, why don't I use a product that could, in one swipe, inflame my allergies and give me a yeast infection. I mean, you have to suffer to attract the menz, right?

This is so terrible its funny...If you had just posted this with no explanation, I would've thought this was some spoof satire on feminine hygiene product commercials. Because this is just soooo over the top it can't be real

I love the oh-so-subtle "Fresh DAILY" in the background at the end of the first ad.

I'd like to see the male version, maybe called winter's morn ball freshener?

I am so creeped out by a hand pretending to be a talking vagina that I am at a loss for words. WTF?

My mother was a gynecologist and she HATED Summer's Eve and similar products. She told her patients "If you wouldn't gargle with it, don't put it up your vagina either!"

Also note how the ads talk down to women in the vein of "Oh sweetie, didn't you know you're supposed to wash *down there*?"

As if women don't know how their vagina works.

I actually thought these talking hand ads were hilarious. I'm a 25 year old girl and I'm in marketing. These ads manage to cut through the clutter without seriously offending anyone (or offending everyone equally, which seems to be okay in marketing), so I say "kudos". I think summer's eve is going through some rebranding. 

The first one though.. yes, I agree that it shouldn't glorify "men fighting for the V". That's lame, homes. 

I find it interesting (read that as annoying, disturbing...) that, apparently, the target audience is teen-aged girls. Given that, due to some acts of legislation and varying levels of parenting skills, a large percentage of North American teen-agers get their only education regarding "down there" from advertisers (and internet porn sites), it is disappointing that, once again, young females are told that the vagina is naturally gross, and that they need to be forever fresh and ready (for what?).

Good lord, where to start? The first one only reminds me of sexist ranting about how "powerful" women are because men want to have sex with them... seriously, are we supposed to buy that the vagina is "the most powerful thing in the world" when women have been locked out of even basic human rights for millenia? It's just a slap in the face

As for the rest of them... racist, sexist commericals encouraging you to use unnecessary chamicals on an area that sensitive, and for what? I'm not sexually active, but I have a very hard time imagining that keeping your vag ready for show 24 hours a day is a meaningful thing to do. I also have a hard time wrapping my head around how all of these commercials manage to be all about the male gaze on your genitals and somehow still stay clear from the sexual implications of that statement. That is some killer marketing.

I also read that Summer's Eve and the advertising agency that produced these offensive ads actually conducted a cross-America year long research project to understand what women want!! 

And did anyone else notice that several of the hands trying to sub as Vs are male? 

This is crazy! I was also thoroughly creeped out by the fact that a talking hand was supposed to be a vagina. Some other things I noticed:

-Only the white commercial talks about ph levels and other sort of "scientific" criteria that any smart consumer would want to know about, implying that black and Latina consumers don't do research and don't care about what it is they're buying, or they're too stupid to understand.

-No Asian commercial? Is that because Asians don't know that they're not white, or because they don't have disgusting vaginas, or for some other reason?

-Generally I applaud companies that try to use Spanish, if it's for things like having Spanish-speaking customer service agents and stuff. But NOT ALL LATINAS speak Spanish. Hell, even Latina magazine hasn't published articles in Spanish for years.

-And, obviously of course, if men have been battling it out for the vaginas over the years, it's not so much because the vagina is powerful as it is that it is over-powerable--rapeable, not necessarily aroused before intercourse happens, etc.

The poor uterus is screaming "EXCUSE ME? YOU ARE NOT THE ONE WHO DOES THE WORK!" So not only are these ads very disturbing and idiotic...they are of course *sigh* inaccurate.

almost spat at the television screen in disgust when I saw this the other day. Wtf are they thinking? Not to mention the fact that most of what summers eve seems to sell are unnecessary products. No matter what you do your vagina is not going to smell like flowers.

Well I'm never gonna look at my hand the same way again O_O

The print ads in this campaign are just as delightful. Did you know that Cleopatra's most precious resource was her vagina?

http://evilslutopia.com/2011/07/would-cleopatra-have-used-summers-eve.html

The vagina is a self-cleaning system :( Epic fail for Summer's Eve.

spanish translation "that thong is the tackiest thing i've seen in my life, and you know that practically i've seen it all." seen it all?! here we go again with the promiscuous sexy latina stereotype...

I am typing this somewhat bewildered. I think this is a very "U.S" thing, we don't get this level of interesting advert for pointless "lady" products (yet) over in the U.k. I've not salient point sadly, other than to agree with the general confusion over racial and gendered stereotypes. That and I wonder how many others of us tried to make the "vertical smile" with our own hands. Vertical smile, because your "V" is always happy!

Not to mention, what in the hell was it doing at the showing of a Harry Potter movie???   So many children seeing this movie.  Our world is out of control.  Let's put back some morality for our children and not let advertising and the government tell us where, how and when to live.

The ad agency which created these Summer's Eve ads defended them by writing:

The Richards Group is defending the campaign. Agency founder Stan Richards offers this statement to Adweek: "We have a wonderful client that recognizes no matter what they do, marketing in the feminine hygiene category is going to provoke a reaction. After listening to thousands of women say they want straight-talk and lighthearted communication on a historically-uncomfortable topic, Summer's Eve gave us license to be bold, irreverent and celebratory across a multitude of mediums and to different audiences. We are surprised that some have found the online videos racially stereotypical. We never intended anything other than to make the videos relatable, and our in house multi-cutural experts confirmed the approach. The more important mission is to get women talking about taboo topics and we hope these negative sentiments don't overshadow that effort." 

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/summers-eve-talking-vagina-ads-arent-racist-says-agency-133588

Only a few of the commenters to that blog were supportive of those ads or of that agency's statement. Here's one comment from Larry D. Woodward, July 22, 2011

I convened an informal panel of African American and Hispanic Creatives last night via the web; all with 10 to 25 years in the business working at both targeted and general market agencies. Most have done work on major brands that you would recognize, almost all are very awarded (Clios, Effies, etc...) There was no glee or mean-spiritedness about the unanimous discussion of how the Summer's Eve ads missed the mark. Just a weariness that we're still having the discussion and that publications like Adweek are still defending work that isn't defensible. At what point do we become the experts we are and have you actually listen to the comments? It's not so much about promoting racial stereotypes as it is creating advertising that is layered and insightful...hit, sticks and makes the product a hero--not the object of controversy.