FairPrice explains why sexual wellness product labelled 'family essential' on FB ad

NTUC FairPrice has put out a statement after its carousel ad was called out for carrying an image of a male sexual wellness product as family essential by a netizen. Since then, FairPrice has swiftly removed the product and shared that the marketplace is created within FairPrice Online to enable local independent business partners to showcase and sell their products to FairPrice customers.

The platform often adds new sellers and generally ensures that the products sold adhere to local regulations. However, in this instance, the brand has decided to remove the products on display, it said in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

“Based on the recent feedback received on this product, we have decided to remove all products that belong to this sub-category. We apologise for any controversy these products may have caused," it said. It added that as a progressive and evolving platform, "[it continues] to add new sellers, ensuring that products sold on the marketplace all adhere to local regulations".

A quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found that the product was no longer on FairPrice’s online website.

According to images on AsiaOne, and social and content discussion website Reddit, the ad was for a US brand called “SVAKOM”. The brand first started in 2012 to create “a good quality product” based on the mottos of care, elegance, fashion and intelligence”. The team established operations and branches in several places such as Los Angeles, Miami, Amsterdam and Shenzhen. 

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Red tapes to marketing sexual wellness products

Earlier this year, a report by non-profit organisation Center for Intimacy Justice done together with pelvic health start-up Origin claimed that Facebook parent company Meta rejected ads on women’s health while allowing ads by men’s sexual wellness companies with sexual innuendos to run on Facebook and Instagram.

According to the report, the categories of start-ups with rejected ads included menopause, pelvic pain, pregnancy or postpartum care, menstrual health, fertility, sexual wellness, education, and others. Meta commonly classified these health ads as “adult products” and the report claimed that “Meta appears to apply this policy unevenly”.

Ads from companies including VFit, Intimate Rose and Genneve were said to be censored by Meta. On the other hand, the report said that ads with sexual innuendos from men’s sexual wellness brands such as Hims and Manscaped were allowed to run on Meta’s platforms.

Meanwhile, in Asia sexual wellness companies often have to deal with long-standing taboos, stigmas, and long-standing sexism.

In a previous interview with Cecile Gasnault, brand director at Ramblin' Brands which is the creator of female sexual wellness brand Smile Makers, brands such as hers can’t generally advertise on platforms such as Facebook. There is also a stigma when it comes to female sexual products. “We have seen sexual wellness brands do advertising on Facebook but they sell male products, such as erectile dysfunction drugs but they will not allow any female sexual wellness brand to advertise. So it has more to do with double standards,” she said.

She added that in other experiences, she’s seen sexual wellness categories get blacklisted by companies. “In one of my past experiences, we were told that our category was blacklisted and the company behind the email marketing solution would not agree for us to use their tool even though we are sending emails to people who have been to our website and subscribed to our newsletters and our content,” she said.

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(Photo courtesy: Reddit)