Sometimes, agencies must tackle some categories and topics with a few walls and landmines. Indie Agency News members 8AM Creative have endured one such scenario for a decade.
Sam Kimelman and Jake Rhodes shared a unique advertising challenge: marketing vasectomies in a heavily restricted digital environment.
We chatted about the evolution of their approach, creative solutions to platform bans, and how humor and community insights helped make a clinical procedure relatable and even fun.
The Brief: Marketing Vasectomies Despite Digital Barriers
Kimelman explained that when he first started working on this niche with the Austin Urology Institute in 2012, the landscape was focused on search-based advertising via SEO, Google Ads, and Yelp.
At the time, platforms like Facebook and Instagram imposed blanket bans on ads for vasectomies, grouping them under a prohibition on “genital surgeries.”
This made social advertising impossible for years.
Even today, Kimelman noted that platforms enforce nuanced restrictions, such as banning language directly referring to improved sexual performance post-vasectomy. To get around these limitations, the team adopted creative phrasing. These adaptations have been essential to reaching audiences in compliance with the rules.
The Strategy: Creativity and Targeted Engagement
When Facebook eventually lifted its ban on vasectomy advertising, 8AM Creative saw an opportunity to bring humor into their campaigns. “You have to trade in innuendo,” Kimelman explained. The team used clever wordplay to bypass direct references to restricted topics. For instance, they played on phrases like “retiring the swim team” and “vasectomies make a huge defrens” to generate intrigue and humor.
Reddit also emerged as a key platform. Dr. Shaw, the client for these campaigns, pointed out that vasectomy discussions often surfaced in Reddit forums. This led the agency to create Reddit-specific campaigns that catered to two primary demographics: parents ready to stop having kids and the child-free community. Campaigns included messages like, “Get on the bus—everyone’s doing it,” capitalizing on real-world trends like increased demand for birth control after legislative changes.
The ability to listen to patient feedback through Dr. Shaw proved invaluable. “We’re in it together,” Kimelman noted, emphasizing the collaborative relationship between agency and client. These insights directly informed campaign ideas and messaging.
Creative Execution: Humor That Resonates
The visual and messaging style evolved, starting with simple stick-figure graphics inspired by bathroom symbols. As the campaigns became more complex, the visuals grew more detailed, but the tone remained playful and clean. Humor was a central element, helping to ease the awkwardness often associated with discussing vasectomies.
The campaigns sparked lively engagement online. Comments ranged from amused praise for the ads’ cleverness to debates over wordplay like “vas defrens.” Rhodes noted that even critical comments fueled organic reach, creating opportunities for the brand to connect with a wider audience.
A standout example was the use of holiday-themed puns, such as “Santa’s sack stays full, but yours doesn’t have to.” While playful, these ads maintained relatability with their target demographic—parents and middle-aged men.
Takeaways for Agencies: Boldness and Collaboration
Reflecting on their success, Kimelman advised agencies to embrace bold strategies, especially in restricted categories like cannabis or hormone therapy. He highlighted the importance of working closely with clients, listening to consumer feedback, and presenting unconventional ideas that align with the client’s vision. As Rhodes put it, “The best work comes when the client lets us have fun with it.”
Doug Zanger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Indie Agency News. He is also the founder of the Creative Bohemian consultancy, lives in the Pacific Northwest and is insufferable about it.
