{"id":363803,"date":"2010-02-25T13:55:21","date_gmt":"2010-02-25T18:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"tag:business.theatlantic.com,2010:\/\/3.36464"},"modified":"2010-02-25T14:11:05","modified_gmt":"2010-02-25T19:11:05","slug":"the-challege-of-marketing-small-condoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/363803","title":{"rendered":"The Challege of Marketing Small Condoms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are products where smallness is a marketing virtue, like cellphones or<br \/>\nthong underwear. But small condoms are a marketing nightmare. If advertising is about creating consumer desire, who aspires to a size extra-small?<\/p>\n<p>The result is a condom aisle at the drug store where all the men, a la <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lake_Wobegon\">Lake Wobegon<\/a>, are &#8220;above average.&#8221; But the status quo may have dire public health implications.<\/p>\n<p>According to the medical journal <i>Sexually Transmitted Infections<\/i>, 45<br \/>\npercent of men <a href=\"http:\/\/sti.bmj.com\/content\/86\/1\/36.abstract\">reported<\/a> that<br \/>\nthey had experienced an ill-fitting condom within the last three months.<\/p>\n<p> The misfits were significantly more likely to report breakage<br \/>\nand slippage, along with difficulty reaching orgasm, both for their<br \/>\npartners and for themselves, and a host of other sexual mishaps. Not<br \/>\nsurprisingly, men with ill-fitting condoms were more likely to take them<br \/>\n off before sex was even over &#8212; all of which adds up to a massive failure<br \/>\nfor the one job a condom exists to fulfill.<\/p>\n<p> Aside from a realistic range<br \/>\nof sizes, there is a dizzying amount of condom variety. A non-exhaustive<br \/>\n list: ribbed, for her\/his pleasure, studded, lubricated, extra thin,<br \/>\nscented, textured, unscented, flavored, extended pleasure, colored,<br \/>\nwith\/without spermicide, glow in the dark, lamb skin, warming. But aside<br \/>\n from the machismo-imbued &#8220;Magnum&#8221; designation, you&#8217;d be hard-pressed to<br \/>\n find any size labels. What&#8217;s a modestly<br \/>\nendowed guy to do? And perhaps more importantly, are the condom<br \/>\nmanufacturers being irresponsible by not being transparent in their<br \/>\nsizing? Do they even make small condoms?<\/p>\n<p> In fact, there is some<br \/>\nsize variation in condoms, but it&#8217;s couched in jargon. LifeStyles has by<br \/>\n far the most direct code, called &#8220;Snugger Fit.&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/condommonologues.com\/condom-size-chart\/\">Here<\/a> is a<br \/>\nsizing chart for Durex condoms. <\/p>\n<p>Trojan seems to<br \/>\n have recalibrated its sizes a la Starbucks (and there is something<br \/>\nappealing, if patronizing, about the idea of buying a &#8220;Tall&#8221; condom when<br \/>\n in fact it&#8217;s the opposite). The company <a href=\"http:\/\/www.trojancondoms.com\/Product\/ProductList.aspx\">organizes<br \/>\nits products<\/a> by Regular, Large, and Extra Large. Ah, so the<br \/>\nregular is actually a small? Wrong. The regular is actually regular &#8212; 35 of their<br \/>\n42 lines fall under this category &#8212; not exactly following <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Penis_frequency.svg\">the bell<br \/>\ncurve<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> Buying condoms online neatly sidesteps this entire mess, though even on the ostensibly private and shame-proof internet, a<br \/>\ncomparison of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.undercovercondoms.com\/Condoms\/Types\/Smaller\/4\/smaller-condoms.html?DivID=CondomStyles\">smaller<br \/>\n condom selection<\/a> vs. the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.undercovercondoms.com\/Condoms\/Types\/Larger\/3\/large-condoms.html?DivID=CondomStyles\">large<br \/>\n condom offerings<\/a> is instructive. But condoms tend to be<br \/>\nunplanned, impulse buys &#8212; hence the rather limited number of bulk<br \/>\npurchases, despite considerable savings and a condom&#8217;s 3-5 year<br \/>\nlifespan.<\/p>\n<p>So what&#8217;s to be done? It&#8217;s tricky territory. <a href=\"http:\/\/secure.condomania.com\/TheyFit\/theyfit.asp?dept=93&amp;number=C-TFC-12\">TheyFit<br \/>\n Condoms<\/a> offers seventy different sizes (none of which<br \/>\nare labeled &#8220;small&#8221;), and guarantees a &#8220;custom&#8221; condom. But in order to<br \/>\nenjoy that superlative fit, you&#8217;ll have to <a href=\"http:\/\/secure.condomania.com\/images\/us\/fitkits\/FitKit.pdf\">measure<\/a>,<br \/>\n and carefully at that. The site thoughtfully warns, &#8220;Watch out for<br \/>\npaper cuts!&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.time.com\/time\/business\/article\/0,8599,1832445,00.html\">Spray-on<br \/>\n condoms<\/a> seemed promising, but the latex doesn&#8217;t dry quickly enough<br \/>\nfor the understandably impatient consumer. Dr. Bill Yarber, of the<br \/>\nKinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction in<br \/>\nIndiana, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/label-small-condoms-as-large-says-expert\/story-e6frfkp9-1225830901908\">recommends<br \/>\n re-labeling<\/a> small condoms as &#8220;large&#8221;, regular as &#8220;extra-large&#8221; and<br \/>\nso on. But this would require some sort of industry standard and an<br \/>\noverhaul of the current condom lines, all without letting the public in<br \/>\non their new sizing policies. Additionally, Yarber&#8217;s plan would have the<br \/>\ntrue-to-life Magnum man in a pinch: his previously large-enough condoms would<br \/>\nsuddenly be a tight fit.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, if men want a condom that fits &#8212;<br \/>\n and it&#8217;s much more about girth than length, if that helps &#8212; then<br \/>\nthey&#8217;ll have to band together and demand more accurate sizes from the<br \/>\ncondom companies. At the very least it should make for one heck of a<br \/>\nprotest.<br \/><br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n<br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:31caecafea211650121f2de54737b4a7:g9D7N00xX%2F%2FfqX8ZJd6h5E8%2FlGT9tPWUIc%2FSPrbBdg8ZKA%2Bm2FCBm5qBYjTnMBFt0%2F6IU%2Fh%2BGe2E'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/emailthis.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:4486df475d64bf35588bca1f298a4288:PWlRqz%2FJF0n7GBiaNmvGHtH%2FFTkXYMstZdVb19miDjnwCuFOxcBP4vbvrgB3HmzYt4MCIakjTMoD'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/digg.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:9b4e9d625bf5a1256f74bb2ca89579ef:RWoGmneOjuZioOjix34hljsjJuRvuevwnharDRSJsAC6fzCrAzA25M%2FwrP8pMXTkFer%2FTrVmfZv1'><img border='0' title='Add to Reddit' alt='Add to Reddit' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/reddit.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:cd68158fe7e2e052a0bf4fe64ede26b0:sbTlPZsfiYWApM0nCWb22xrvizX%2FnLBNYxfYFUeK7InIJgpwYojsSs3viPlzAdl%2BIM2VoOo5Rn1OuQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Twitter' alt='Add to Twitter' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/twitter.png'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:a7130705aa0f7e88536c0eaaef25bc4f:pomGHV54F7evadt0xLGoo3CHljWyTfp9kMCXaaTE6hnlrVLyf49UCIl47vOeRJMrKdsMycttgnLo'><img border='0' title='Add to del.icio.us' alt='Add to del.icio.us' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/delicious.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:556b3a862441e8b2a9cee60d142e292e:DBxiarXOpyoaqF3g2Kb8BzC6vxac%2BRsYBFJbLlo29fnqHmDGc4JzF5Hix%2FzBKzJeIgcTHEtD1yAkNg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to StumbleUpon' alt='Add to StumbleUpon' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/stumbleit.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n  <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http:\/\/www.pheedcontent.com\/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:afd7f35e396c22972722b8bb63baa5ad:U8MTJsNOgqnqwcaRPURgOTTqgW8JcmxEJ7u6MY9%2FYym5r3HRkFWAsjsgXKOLQbVCzjr9XwNcQn4btg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http:\/\/images.pheedo.com\/images\/mm\/facebook.gif'\/><\/a><br \/>\n<br clear=\"both\" style=\"clear: both;\"\/><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/ads.pheedo.com\/click.phdo?s=d866a67422d30f435cc157acbbaa65d4&#038;p=1\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" style=\"border: 0;\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/ads.pheedo.com\/img.phdo?s=d866a67422d30f435cc157acbbaa65d4&#038;p=1\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"0\" width=\"0\" border=\"0\" style=\"display:none\" src=\"http:\/\/a.rfihub.com\/eus.gif?eui=2225\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/AtlanticBusinessChannel\/~4\/z7ImXCDJiQE\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are products where smallness is a marketing virtue, like cellphones or thong underwear. But small condoms are a marketing nightmare. If advertising is about creating consumer desire, who aspires to a size extra-small? The result is a condom aisle at the drug store where all the men, a la Lake Wobegon, are &#8220;above average.&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4833,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4833"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}