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Screen grab from K-Y ad.

Persuasion Notebook offers quick hits on the business of persuasion from The Globe and Mail's marketing and advertising reporter, Susan Krashinsky. Read more on The Globe's marketing page and follow Susan on Twitter @Susinsky.

Forget the young actors with runway looks and the visual puns such as rocket ships and fireworks: to advertise its personal lubricant, K-Y is getting real.

The brand has released a series of hilarious new ads designed to speak to baby boomers trying to bring intimacy back into their relationships. The commercials show women captivated by watching their middle-aged husbands making a small effort; whether with personal grooming, yard work, or fitful attempts at exercise.

Each of the activities takes place against a slow-jam soundtrack. The ads are meant to promote the lubricant, as well as the warming oil product, to Boomer couples. Each spot ends with the slogan, "warm up to love again."

According to the agency behind the ads, DDB Canada, consumer research showed couples often find it difficult or embarrassing to discuss products such as this.

Tim Boughtflower, the group brand director at Johnson & Johnson Inc., which makes K-Y, said in a statement that the "light-hearted approach" was meant "to pique a woman's curiosity" and make women consider the product.

The ads are currently running online and will be on television starting in the new year.

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