While sex is a hot topic, condoms are not. Everyone knows you have to use them but very few want to. Condoms are a necessary evil- not a great starting point for a brand synonymous with condoms!

In the UK, growth in the category does not come from getting more people to use condoms. And for Durex with an 83% share of that market it doesn’t come from stealing share either. The only opportunity is in increasing value, getting people to trade-up for an added benefit condom.

The Durex Sexual Wellbeing Survey uncovered a shocking fact: 59% of people weren’t fully satisfied with their sex lives. That grim statistic inspired our brand vision: to inspire people to love sex. Instead of ignoring couples because they don’t “need” condoms anymore, we would offer them something truly valuable. Performax Intense would give couples the thing they all wanted but few were capable of achieving- mutual climax.

In the pursuit of mutual climax defeated couples were quick to grumble: he’s too fast, she’s too slow. This was an irrefutable truth—men and women are built differently and one of the things that separate them is the climax gap. Durex Performax Intense would bridge that gap physically but we thought it also represented a great opportunity to bury the hatchet, repair relationships and improve sex lives.

Our brief was simple: Durex bridges the gap to get men and women more in-sync.

The creative approach was to get couples to make beautiful music together. And that’s exactly what they did, in record numbers. We took the evil out of condoms and got couples hot on a new condom that was worth paying a premium for.

Vinyl was the #3 most popular video in 2012. Not only did people watch it, they liked it and weren’t shy letting the world know. Our Facebook fan base exploded. We created a compelling story that won people’s hearts and warmed them to our brand. The potential embarrassment of liking a sex brand in public was no longer a factor.

The campaign resulted in a 180% increase in sales for the product. Not only did it grow Durex value sales, but also a previously stagnant market. Growth came from successfully reframing condoms from being the protection you have to have, to the sexual enhancement you want. This is the first signal of change in our mission to improve sex lives.