Re. Those ads

So we’ve just launched our new ad campaign; you might have seen it online and in the paper. We expected that it might be risky. When we decided that we wanted to make finances relatable to millennials, we knew a few moms and dads would cover their eyes.

The thing is, we’re not talking about sex just for the sake of talking about sex. We’re talking about it in a very specific way that plays on the taboo nature of the topic—because that’s also how people tend to approach conversations about their money... which does nothing for financial literacy rates. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that "compared with other Americans, the millennial generation—those born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s—has the “lowest level of financial literacy.”

Sure, talking about sex can be difficult. But that’s just like talking about finances. It’s not always easy to talk about debt and credit and managing your money. But like any other serious issue, sweeping it under the rug doesn’t help. Being transparent and addressing it honestly, even if it gets a little uncomfortable? That opens up dialogue and brings awareness.

P.S. The ads were created by two women who are both feminists and who love talking about stuff like sex-positivity, intersectional feminism, and the merit of that’s-what-she-said jokes in the style of Steve Carell's monotonous delivery.