NEW YORK — Hot Octopuss has launched a new campaign aimed at tackling everyday sexual stigmas in connection with its new five-speed finger vibe, DiGiT. Playing on the product's "show bad sex the finger" tagline, the new campaign, aptly called "Show Stigma The Finger," features six women baring it all and giving the middle finger to the personal stigmas and prejudices they've individually faced, including racism, body shaming, ageism and homophobia.
The campaign was reportedly banned by ad authorities, but went live at one New York location and online yesterday, highlighting "the true power of just one finger" and rallying global support for women as they seek to tackle obstacles that "stand in the way of achieving healthy and happy sex lives," a company spokesperson noted.
Julia Margo, co-founder and COO of Hot Octopuss, praised the boldness of the advertisement.
“There’s never been a campaign that so brazenly reveals sexual stigmas women face every day, and yesterday we were delighted to see people supporting us online with it, sharing their own stories of sexual stigmas and stereotypes they’re fighting," she said. "At the same time, we’re proud to unveil our most exciting toy yet, which mirrors the relentlessness of our activists — DiGiT. This revolutionary finger toy gifts users with attainable, powerful pleasure. We believe sex toys are another way in which we can begin to chip away at societal barriers standing in the way of healthy and happy sex lives.”
Hot Octopuss collaborated with multi-disciplinary artist Aleksandra Karpowicz to create the new campaign. Of the hundreds of women who applied to add their voice to the fight against stigma, Karpowicz selected Emelle, Lori, Mary, Raj, Sophia and Victoria as "the faces behind the fingers," representing rebellion against homophobia, ageism, ableism, colorism, body shaming and transphobia, respectively.
Notably, for every DiGiT purchased during the course of the campaign, Hot Octopuss will donate 10 percent of profits to charities chosen by the activists featured in the "Show Stigma The Finger" campaign, including the Human Rights Campaign, Little People of America, SAGE, Race Forward, Project HEAL, National Center for Transgender Equality and Human Rights Campaign.
Retailers can purchase DiGiT by emailing april.lampert@hotoctopuss.com, while customers can do so via the "Show Stigma The Finger" website.
Join the movement online by using the hashtag #ShowStigmaTheFinger on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
To learn more about the activists and the campaign, visit showstigmathefinger.com.
For more from Hot Octopuss, follow them on Twitter.
