TALENS RUBBER CEMENT | Nuns | 1992
This Is a Condom Ad / Talens Rubber Cement "Nuns"
Have you seen this Spanish ad that won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1992? It's the one where a statue of the baby Jesus in a convent garden is missing a very particular part, and the young nuns, blushing furiously, rush off to tell the mother superior. More than 30 years later, people are still talking about this masterpiece that used humor to break through a taboo.
The problem
Talens Rubber Cement is a rubber-based adhesive. In the Spanish market in 1992, "glue" basically meant instant adhesive — once you stuck something down, that was it, no do-overs. This Rubber Cement, though, took time to dry, which meant you could still adjust the position after applying it. The challenge was how to communicate this functional advantage — the ability to "redo it" — in a way people would remember.
The insight
Being able to "start over" isn't just a product feature. It taps into something deeply human. Everyone has had a moment where they wished they could undo something they'd already done — and the more forbidden the act, the stronger that temptation. Eduardo Maclean of the agency Casadevall Pedreño & SP connected this product trait to the instinctive human desire for "forbidden correction." By setting the story in a convent — a sacred place where mistakes are least tolerated — the persuasive power of the product benefit shot up instantly.
The idea
Young nuns picking flowers in a convent garden discover that a certain part of a statue of the baby Jesus has broken off. They carefully wrap it in a lace handkerchief and bring it to the mother superior, who pulls out a tube of Talens Rubber Cement from a drawer. The three of them return to the garden and carefully glue the piece back on. The mother superior attaches it facing downward and walks away — but before the glue fully dries, one of the young nuns quietly "corrects" the angle. The product package appears on screen along with the message that with this glue, you can fix things afterward. The sheer skill of pulling off one of the biggest taboos imaginable, without a trace of vulgarity and while somehow keeping a sense of reverence intact, is incredible.
What happened
This film won the Grand Prix in Film at Cannes Lions 1992, becoming only the second Grand Prix in the history of Spanish advertising. By balancing religious taboo and sexual suggestion with humor and good taste, this ad is still talked about today, more than 30 years later, as "the greatest adhesive commercial ever made." When it won, Luis Casadevall, Salvador Pedreño, and José María Piera took the stage at Cannes — a moment that marked a milestone in the history of Spanish advertising.
Afterthought
What really gets me about this commercial is how it stops just short of crossing the line into "things you shouldn't do," while somehow making that exact spot the most charming place to be. It makes you realize, all over again, that being able to fix a mistake was never really about technology — it was about human freedom. I also think the client who approved this in Spain in 1992 must have had some serious nerve. And every time I watch this ad, I find myself thinking: it's okay to make mistakes, because you can always fix them. An ad that can make you feel that way really is something.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 1992
