Screw Those IRS Checks: Trojan Promises to 'Stimulate Your Package'

Among the innumerable downers of the pandemic has been this statistically provable fact: Americans might be getting horizontal on the sofa to watch Netflix—but not to have sex. Just ask Matthew Farrell, CEO of Trojan condoms parent company Church and Dwight. In an analyst call last summer, Farrell couldn’t have been more direct about the brand’s flaccid condom sales, which were down 13% for Q2. “As far as the impact of social distancing and quarantining, people are having less sex.” This sounds like a job for the marketing department. Earlier this week, Trojan—taking a page from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that passed in March—unwrapped its “Stimulate Your Package,” a pun-rich approach to getting Americans to buy Trojan condoms. “We know this past year has been challenging for many, so Trojan saw this as an opportunity to give people a laugh with a branded stimulus package and remind everyone that there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Trojan brand manager Rob Anger told Adweek. “The resonant topic and this play on words created a fresh and timely message from the brand, with innuendos that were almost too hard to ignore.” A lucky hundred adults who sign up at Trojan's site will receive this fun pack. Indeed, Trojan has laid out an offer sure to penetrate the market. The thrust of its effort is a literal stimulus package—a blue cardboard gift box issued by the brand’s Pleasury Department that will go to 100 randomly chosen people. The box features three of Trojan’s more rousing varieties, and when this stimulus package hits, the brand said to “expect growth.” A plan to stimulate growth The lucky recipients of this carnal care pack will be able to “see stars” with a box of Ecstasy condoms, can “wear stripes” with some Ultra Ribbed condoms and “feel free” courtesy of a pack of Bareskin, whose latex is 50% thinner. Trojan’s publicity folks predict that the variety pack will “boost growth and protect all members of this great nation before what some are calling "the hornist summer ever." While President Biden said on March 11 that, assuming vaccinations continue apace, “there’s a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard” by the July 4 weekend, a loosening of restrictions doesn’t necessarily translate to an uptick in nooky. As part of a larger study on how the pandemic affected Americans’ sex lives, the Kinsey Institute found that there was no commensurate increase in sexual activity, even as restrictions on socializing lifted during last summer. The stimulus package features a sampler of Trojan's many exciting varieties. In fact, statistically speaking, Americans were having less sex even before the pandemic locked everyone inside. A study published by the American Medical Association last year found that sexual activity between 2000 and 2018 has been steadily declining. The reasons why Americans are apparently not getting busy include the fact that many say they're too busy. As long work hours and financial pressures take a toll on what used to be personal time, fewer people are in the mood. Even so, Church and Dwight is hopeful that the summer of 2021 will see a resurgence of friskiness and, with it, sales of condoms. After all, says Trojan, “every Jimmy deserves a stimmy.” For Trojan, Inventive Packaging Made the Sale When Advertising Wasn’t Allowed

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Screw Those IRS Checks: Trojan Promises to 'Stimulate Your Package'

A softening of condom sales calls for some heavy action

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara