What do Mr. Clean, the Energizer Bunny and Mrs. Butterworth have in common? It's more than the fact that they are iconic American brands. The reason that these brands are considered icons is the way they've been woven into the experience of America. According to a couple of recent studies (one published in the Journal of Marketing), this type of staying power is in part thanks to the way that these companies have anthropomorphized their brands. One study found that the brands which assign human characteristics to nonhuman products may appeal more to female consumers than male consumers (Wang, Baker, and Wakefield 2007). It's no coincidence that female consumers are the main ones making purchasing decisions regarding cleaning supplies, groceries and other household items.

One example of this can be seen in our recent "Love the Penis, Kill the Sperm" campaign for Conceptrol, a vaginal contraceptive gel from Revive Personal Products. Once viewed as something outdated that "your grandma might have used," spermicide has now come into the forefront of birth control methods. One of the most effective contraceptives you can buy without a prescription, Conceptrolis free of hormones and can be used alone or in conjuction with condoms.

Spin the Sperm is an interactive game that allows participants to spin a wheel and test their knowledge of birth control. Each sperm that encircles the wheel has a different persona so to speak. From the bespectacled bookworm to the paintbrush-wielding artist, it is obvious that each sperm has his own unique personality and attributes. By assigning human characteristics, this campaign is capitalizing on the fact that female consumers are more likely to find the product appealing and make a connection with it.