Brands
Durex finds the other G-spot for early detection
MUMBAI: Who knew pleasure could be a lifesaver? This World Breast Cancer Day, Durex swapped seduction for self-care with its provocative new campaign, The Other G-Spot, proving once again that the world’s most playful brand can also be its most purposeful. The campaign redefines protection by linking the language of pleasure to the power of prevention, urging women to discover a spot that could truly save lives.
For years, pop culture has obsessed over the G-spot, that elusive zone of discovery and delight. Durex, however, has uncovered another, one where “G” stands for “gland”, the mammary glands where most breast cancers begin. And like its better-known namesake, this one too can only be found by touch, by women themselves.
At its heart, the campaign is a call to action, encouraging women to conduct self-examinations, schedule screenings and normalise conversations around early detection. The statistics are sobering, one woman in India is diagnosed with breast cancer every four minutes, yet only a small fraction know how to perform a self-check. Durex wants to change that, one confident conversation at a time.
In the digital film, a woman opens with the teasing line, “I found a new G-Spot, and I can’t wait to show you.” Viewers lean in, expecting a familiar Durex twist, and they get one, just not the kind they anticipated. The reveal? She’s referring to the life-saving self-exam spot.
The campaign cleverly blurs the line between sensuality and self-care, using curiosity to drive awareness. The message lands powerfully, self-touch isn’t just about pleasure, it’s about protection.
But The Other G-Spot isn’t just an ad, it’s an interactive movement. Durex is taking the conversation into private DMs, users who message the brand with “The Other G-Spot” receive a video tutorial guiding them through the art of self-examination, all explained in the familiar, confident Durex tone.
Reckitt South Asia regional marketing director, health Kanika Kalra said, “At Durex, we believe confidence and awareness go hand in hand. This campaign turns prevention into empowerment, encouraging women to see self-care as an act of strength and love.”
With The Other G-Spot, Durex once again pushes boundaries, and this time, they might just save lives doing it. Because real protection, as the brand reminds us, starts long before the bedroom.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
