Sex Toys Are the New Tupperware

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Despite the well-known adage that sex sells, anyone with something really sexy to sell knows how difficult marketing can get. Durex, however, seems to have found a medium for creating buzz with its house parties — events held at people’s homes for which the company supplies items for people to check out and take home to try. Think Tupperware parties… but a million times better.

“Talking about sex is kind of taboo, especially in an online environment where people don’t really want to get into the nitty gritty of their relationships and what products they’re using to enhance them,” said Emily Bourdet, brand manager of Durex. “This gives them a comfortable environment where they can talk about it in their homes.”

In October of last year, house parties gave Durex a 40 percent increase on brand buzz online, which pushed the brand’s Facebook Likes just below 20,000. We can imagine preparations are in full swing for them right now, as everyone in the business of pleasure fights for the public’s attention both IRL and online.

Valentine’s Day is, after all, widely regarded by those in the industry as the “sex holidays” (other “sex holidays” include Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend, and SXSW).

Just kidding about SXSW.

Maybe.

“It’s not a hugely seasonal category,” Bourdet explains about sex-related items on Valentine’s Day. “Within the major holidays for condoms and lubricants, this is one of the big ones. But I wouldn’t say it’s like the hot dog category, where in the summer months you see these giant spikes.”

Do you think the condom and hotdog comparison was an accident? Yeah, we’re juvenile.

PS: We still don’t know what a Wegasm is — but we think it’s lol that Durex felt compelled to trademark it. If you have one on accident without its products, are you infringing their… oh, fine, we’ll stop.

Via Advertising Age. Image courtesy of Durex.