Lingerie and sex toy brand Ann Summers has been shortlisted for the Physical Activation & Retail Media and Digital Initiative of the Year  at this year’s RG Excellence Awards.

Marketing and customer lead at Ann Summers, Laura Whittaker, takes Retail Gazette behind the scenes of the shortlisted activation which was part of its ‘Life is Foreplay’ campaign.

‘Life is Foreplay’ was launched to expand the conversation around female pleasure and aimed to challenge the perception of Ann Summers as a sex shop.

The concept for the campaign was based off of one thought: “foreplay isn’t just what happens before sex, it’s the pursuit of pleasure”.

Whittaker says: “We wanted to challenge the traditional definition of foreplay and broaden it beyond sex. Pleasure can be found anywhere, in a look, a flirt, a moment of connection.  It can be shared with a partner (or partners) or enjoyed entirely on your own. Ultimately, it’s about embracing the things that make you feel good.

“That gave us an opportunity to create something that felt playful, provocative and distinctly Ann Summers, but also reflected how the brand is evolving: less about sex as an end point, and more about pleasure.”

According to Whittaker, Ann Summers wanted the activation to be visible in the places consumers experienced the brand.

She says: ” The OOH campaign got people talking, while we brought the idea to life through in-store activation, our digital and social channels, and a real-life experience for press and influencers.”

“Each channel played a different role: OOH created awareness and intrigue, our stores and digital channels allowed customers to engage with the idea, and the live experience gave our press and influencer community something to experience and share.”

Consistency across all channels was also key to the brand as it meant ‘Life in Foreplay’ wasn’t just a campaign but “an idea consumers could explore and experience”.

Whittaker highlights that the campaign plays into its mission to be the leading authority on female sexual pleasure as it takes a subject that can feel intimidating and private too most and turns it into something that is ” fun, accessible, and relevant to everyday life.”

She says: “We measure the traditional metrics, i.e. reach, engagement, earned media, social conversation, traffic and commercial impact. But we also wanted to understand whether we’d started to challenge outdated perceptions of the brand.

“Our customer research told us that, while Ann Summers has incredibly strong awareness, some people still viewed us as cheap, tacky or taboo. So, this campaign was also an opportunity to reinforce Ann Summers as a confident, contemporary brand, and a credible authority on female sexual pleasure.”

Whittaker highlights that creatively the brand struggled to decide on how to talk about pleasure without actually talking about the subject. As ‘Life is Foreplay’ was an out-of-home campaign Ann Summers had to be “mindful” about the language and graphics it used.

“We deliberately embraced suggestion, curiosity and interpretation, giving people just enough to make them stop, think, connect the dots and draw their own conclusions. We also had to strike the right balance between being provocative enough to stand out in a crowded environment, while remaining appropriate for a broad audience.”

The retailer wanted the campaign to feel aspirational but not exclusionary as pleasure is for everyone. They wanted the creative to invite people in.

She says: “A key ambition was to talk to a wider audience and broaden the conversation around pleasure. We wanted to introduce the idea that life should be about pleasure and play, not something reserved for special occasions!

“By taking the campaign into the real world through OOH, we could reach people who might never have visited an Ann Summers store or website. People didn’t have to be actively shopping for lingerie or sex toys to connect with the idea, they just had to recognise they deserve pleasure and play in their lives.”

And physical activations and experiences are important to Ann Summers, as they create stronger emotional connections.

Whittaker explains that customers value “personalised attention”.

“For many people, particularly when they’re exploring something new, having someone knowledgeable and approachable to talk to can make all the difference. That human connection can turn what might initially feel like an intimidating experience into one that feels empowering and enjoyable.”

Social and digital are fundamental to the brand as it takes the campaign beyond the physical activation. However, Ann Summers faces greater restrictions online. Websites such as Meta and Google place tight controls around the language and imagery it can use, which can make it challenging to communicate openly.

She says: “Interestingly, Life is Foreplay lent itself perfectly to digital platforms. The implicit nature of the campaign meant we could create intrigue without needing to be explicit, and the language and visuals invited people to read between the lines, interpret the message and share their reactions.

“Social therefore became more than an amplification channel. It allowed us to extend the conversation and encourage participation.”

The campaign is part of a “much bigger evolution” for Ann Summers. Whittaker says: “We’re moving beyond being defined by what we sell and towards what we stand for.”

“Our purpose is to put pleasure front and centre in people’s lives, and Life is Foreplay gives us a brilliant platform to do that.”

Ann Summers joins McDonalds, B&Q, Currys, AllSaints, The Very Group and many more in the Digital Initiative of the Year category at this year’s RG Excellence Awards. See the full shortlist, and all categories here. This year’s awards will be hosted at the Underglobe on 14 October 2026. 

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