Condom company looks to sexual art to stretch sales

Tag: Packaging Tins CONTROVERSY and sex are a potent marketing mix. At least, thatseems to be the gamble of Melbourne-based condom company LegendsRubbers, which is about to launch prophylactic packaging featuringworks by controversial local artist Hazel Dooney. There's a long history of artists collaborating with products— from the much-coveted Louis Vuitton stylings of TakashiMurakami to Australia's own Pro Hart and Stainmaster carpet. Now, Legends, a small operator that moves about 4000 tins ofcondoms a month, has struck a royalty deal with Hazel Dooney, whoseirony-tinged works explore sex and sexuality, often through theportrayal of semi-naked women. Legends, which sells condoms in colourfully decorated tin boxes,was founded by 36-year-old Daniel Moeschinger in 1999 and won abronze medal in last year's Packaging Design Awards. The judge's comments: "Legends are packed in a neat tin that hasthe utilitarian charm of a tobacco tin and the masculine cache of aZippo lighter." Mr Moeschinger says he approached Dooney with the idea because, hesays, he liked her artwork. He acknowledges the collaboration mayattract some controversy "to a degree". "It's skimming on the edge; it's pushing the boundaries of what wecan do," he says. "Controversy wasn't the main thing; it's that shepaints well, the images look fantastic on a tin and it's about themessage behind them that I really like." The works featured will form part of an forthcoming exhibition ofDooney's work. She says the Legends collaboration is consistentwith her approach of distributing her work outside the"conventional" art system. Adjunct professor of communications at RMIT University NoelTurnbull points to other campaigns where artists were linked toproducts. "The most famous in Australia has been in wine labels," he says. Helikened the Legends approach to a campaign launched in Australiafour years ago, called Snake Condoms, which used cheeky marketingto appeal to young indigenous Australians. "The real test for this is whether or not it actually enhancesproduct sales or whether it is just a question of being noticed,particularly as condoms have moved on from notoriety to utility,"he says.