NEWS COPY
Here’s the famous Victoria’s Secret catwalk campaign as you’ve never seen it before – featuring 'real' women wearing incontinence pants.
The huge billboard displaying the image in London’s Oxford Street emulates the underwear brand’s highly recognisable 'winged angels’ campaign.
Supermodels including Lily Aldridge and Candice Swanepoel, strutted their stuff in the glamourous underwear in the original pictures.
But this time, rather than high-profile models and statement underwear, these shots show ‘angels’ wearing black underwear for women who suffer from bladder weakness.
The images were created by TENA to launch its new Silhouette Noir product, which is designed to boost women’s confidence by looking, feeling and fitting more like traditional underwear than standard incontinence pants.
It comes after a survey of 2,000 women also revealed three quarters say wearing the perfect underwear can be a huge confidence boost.
And 63 per cent feel sexier if they are wearing underwear which fits them perfectly and works well with the outfit they are wearing.
Anna McCrory, senior brand manager for TENA said: “For many women, the underwear you have on can really affect your confidence and how you feel, even though most will never be seen by anyone else.
“Just knowing you have a matching set on, or underwear you know fits you perfectly and makes you look good can put a real spring in your step.
“Unfortunately, for women who suffer from incontinence or bladder weakness, they often don’t get the same feeling from their underwear.
“But just because you need to wear incontinence underwear, you shouldn’t have to let go of your self-esteem or sexiness."
Almost 10,000,000 women in the UK will experience bladder weakness at some point in their life, and we want them to feel as good as everyone else in their underwear.
Previous research has found that women with incontinence currently feel that the current offering in the market doesn’t let them feel sexy.”
The study found the average woman owns 20 pairs of underwear with classic briefs the most popular, followed by bikini style pants, thongs and boy shorts.
And black is the most common colour to wear, with white, multi-coloured, pink and blue also admired by women.
But 89 per cent of women admit they tend to stick with the same type of underwear as they know they feel comfortable and confident in them.
It also emerged the average woman wears underwear they would describe as ‘sexy’ five times a month, and dons matching bra and pants twice a week.
One in three women immediately feel more confident if they are wearing matching underwear, while 41 per cent feel more put together.
Three in 10 feel sexier and 23 per cent feel more stylish.
More than a third of women also admit to owning a pair of pants they reserve for special occasions, such as a date or when they want to feel their best.
And while 62 per cent of women say comfort is the most important factor when it comes to choosing their underwear, just over one in twenty say sexiness is key.
Another one in twenty of those polled via OnePoll said discretion and visibility under clothes is important.
The study also found that if they were to suffer from bladder weakness, 62 per cent of women would be worried about leaking, and 18 per cent fear they wouldn’t feel sexy.
Almost half said they would feel embarrassed, while one in four worry they would feel out of control. Another 14 per cent said they would be limited in the clothes they could wear.
Commenting on the campaign, 48-year old Vanessa Swannell, who has experienced incontinence for almost 30 years said: “As a woman who has experienced bladder weakness for more than half of her life, this campaign is a breath of fresh air.
“Bladder weakness is still a taboo subject and is rarely discussed in the mainstream, despite one in three women experiencing the condition.
“I feel passionately that this project will help empower women like me to feel more confident and sexier. Why shouldn’t women with incontinence feel beautiful and attractive.”
Anna McCrory, senior brand manager for TENA UK, said: “Despite the fact that one in three women experience bladder weakness, it remains a taboo subject for many of us.
* TENA Silhouette Noir is made from a unique soft micro-stretch fabric that is virtually invisible under clothes and is designed to challenge the misconception that women with incontinence struggle to feel ‘sexy’ and are unable to wear matching underwear.
Top 10 most popular types of underwear
1. Classic briefs
2. Bikini
3. Thong
4. Boy shorts
5. Maxi pants
6. French knickers
7. Low rise
8. Brazilian
9. Control briefs
10. French-cut pants
ENDS