Balloon animals made from different coloured condoms have sex in various positions.

Because getting US TV network approvals are difficult for sexual subject matter, Durex “Balloon Animals” debuted via local TV buys only in New York, where there were stations with programming and audiences suitable for our message. Working also with a limited media budget, we planned to rely heavily on our message spreading by viral video. Simply posting Durex’s “Balloon Animals” on YouTube literally created an overnight internet sensation. Less than 24 hours after its launch, it had over 200,000 views, over 350,000 within 36 hours, and within 48 hours it was the #5 viral video on the internet with over 600,000 views. Three-and-a-half days from its launch, “Balloon Animals” had one million views. ” In less than a month, it was posted on hundreds of blogs and media sites internationally, including in articles in Creativity, Shots, Stash, Creative Review, Current, Motionographer and the Canadian national newspaper the Globe and Mail.

Although “Durex” is synonymous with “condom” around the world, the brand holds merely 6% of the US market. However, shortly after the campaign’s launch (from 1/12/09 to 2/9/09), Durex held 60% of online category/brand chatter according to Radian 6. Over the same period, Google Trends reported significant increase in US searches for “Durex”. Within two weeks of launching online, “Balloon Animals” received over three million views according to the Viral Video Charts, which placed it in the top 20 (reaching number one in the first week). In less than a month, “Balloon Animals” was posted 1,131 times and received over five million views (according to Radian 6 and Viral Video Charts respectively). The top word referenced in relation to video postings was “Durex” (source, Radian 6). It was also featured on the homepages of Slate Magazine, VH1 Best Week Ever, The Guardian, Boing Boing, TMZ, Spike TV, and Creativity Online.