Voy’s rage bait ads are painfully miscalculated

Health branding is often a delicate topic that requires thoughtful design and considered messaging. It is not a space to experiment with gender stereotypes – a memo that health brand Voy appears to have not received.

Across the London underground, commuters have been confused, amused and angered by Voy's recent controversial campaign promoting its men's testosterone supplements. Attempting to commandeer the belittling sexist language of the women's health sphere, the ads appear more like hamfisted rage bait – a prime example of a thought-provoking concept with extremely questionable execution.

With taglines such as "It's not him. It's his hormones," and "Are your men hormones getting the better of you?", the ads recycle the same rhetoric historically used to belittle women. While they're undeniably provocative, the ads register more as a sarcastic appropriation of this stereotype, rather than the subversion that the brand likely intended.

"There are bigger issues than Voy’s controversial tube adverts. Still, for the record: testosterone is a woman’s hormone too," explains Monotype's creative type director, Spike Spondike. "I almost feel sorry for the cis men reading these posters, likely as insulted as women are when our 'erratic behaviour' is blamed on hormones. Maybe we had a bad day because we were bulldozed in a meeting or mansplayed on the train.

Of course, hormones affect mood, energy and weight. What frustrates me is that these experiences only seem valid once recognised and legitimised by cis men. What even is a 'normal' testosterone level? Does low mean not man enough? And do we really need more testosterone in an already toxic masculine culture? Hormones exist on a spectrum across all genders. If this is gender-affirming care for men, shouldn’t it be for everyone?" Spike questions.

Unlike aggressively provocative ads like David's new protein bar campaign or Sydney Sweeney's 'great genes', this campaign feels like an effort to subvert harmful stereotypes. The response has predominantly been one of frustration, as women who have previously been ignored for these very issues feel their voice has been subject to androcentrism. Regardless of intention, Voy's ad reads not as a subversion in the name of progressiveness, but as a commercial shock value ploy.