Paladin Labs

For years, the morning after pill has been an important but underused emergency contraception (EC) option to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Research showed that while 85% of women were aware of EC and 70% have had unprotected sex, only 30% take action to obtain EC. Taxi set out to make young women aware of Paladin Labs’ Plan B product, its accessibility and the role it could play in their lives.

The unique viewpoint of the target audience was Taxi’s source of insight. A young, sexually active woman in her early 20s, she grew up surrounded by an open attitude towards sex, and has been socialized to believe that there is a way out of just about anything. This led Taxi directly to the core campaign idea: “oops” happens, and when it does, there’s Plan B.

The creative format was “The___Pill,” leaving space for women to fill in the blank with their own sexual “oops.” Women were targeted at bars, clubs, college and university campuses and music festivals with posters, backlits and even disposable underwear. Digital screens let women share their oopses by text message, and fitting rooms in clothing stores featured boards with fill-in-the-blank sticky notes. The risky sex lines they submitted were compiled live and sent directly to a microsite, shareyouroops.ca, where users could share and vote on submissions.

In just six months, sales increased by 19%, complemented by a 59% increase in unaided awareness for Plan B. The target group got involved: 7,358 lines were generated and shared, over 40,000 votes were cast and 28% of all visitors to the website clicked through to planb.ca for more information.