"We were very happy that they didn't see any negative connection to the ring," she said.īesides Wal-Mart and Shoppers, Elexa will also be sold at Loblaws, Jean Coutu, Zellers and the Katz Group, which owns Pharma Plus, Pharmx Rexall, IDA, Guardian and Herbies.Īccording to Durex's 2004 Global Sex Survey, 39 per cent of Canadians own a vibrator. Hamel said the retailers who agreed to stock the Elexa products had no reservations. "They probably are, and probably should, play it safe." "If they market this too aggressively, they may alienate some customers," he said. Silverburg said traditionally conservative retailers are going to have be careful how they market sex toys, especially in rural areas. All organic swoops and lines, rather than veins and studs, they come in purple, clear and pearlescent white, instead of realistic flesh tones, and are sweetly named Ellipse, Luna and Little Gem, rather than the Hot Dogger. (They're currently being sold at London Drugs stores across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.) Clearly designed to appeal to women, Play's massagers are the soft-core version of a sexual aid. In July, Durex launched a line of "personal massagers" under the name Play. Hamel said the company tried to solve both problems by selling the ring, along with a condom, in mainstream stores. More alarmingly, the company also found that half of women 20 to 24 who have sex do so without protection. Trojan found that women were largely embarrassed to shop for condoms and sex toys, she said. Hamel said Trojan came up with the idea to market the ring after interviewing women about their sexual habits. Elexa products are also displayed together at stores, and the packaging design is similar across the product line. She said the entire Elexa line was designed with sexual protection as the focus - every vibrating ring is prepackaged with a condom. Veronique Hamel, director of marketing at Trojan parent company Church and Dwight, shunned the term "sex toy," preferring "sexual well-being product." Sex columnist Josey Vogels, who appeared at Trojan's Elexa release party last week, described the ring as a "beginner's intro to sex toys," recommended for women who are interested in perking things up in the bedroom but are intimidated at the thought of going into a "scary sex shop."Īt Shoppers, the Elexa line will be found in the feminine-care aisle.Įlexa's makers are keen to portray the lineup as a concept rather than a number of distinct products.
It includes "freshening cloths," "intimacy gel" and a vibrating ring. The products being carried by the stores are a line developed by Trojan called Elexa. "I'm thrilled to be living in a country where we can do that."
"People have a disposition to explore sexuality," said Cory Silverburg, a sex educator and co-owner of Come As You Are, a Toronto sex toy, book and video store. "It would be naive of us to think every product we stock would meet the approval of every single customer in the store."Īccording to some sex educators, it underscores a growing acceptance for open discourse about sex in Canada. He added, however, that some of Wal-Mart's customers will undoubtedly disapprove. Ariz.But Wal-Mart Canada spokesman Kevin Groh said the product line is a good fit, as the company caters to the Canadian mainstream and, as such, carries products that reflect mainstream tastes. The moral for nutritional and dietary supplement companies: register your marks!Ĭomplaint, Heaven Sent Naturals, Inc. Of course, there is also the distinct possibility that all of this could be avoided had Heaven Sent taken the simple and relatively inexpensive step early on of registering its mark.
#Condom elexa registration
While Elexia does have some rights based upon use of the ELEXIA mark in commerce for six years, because no registration was ever obtained its case will be more difficult to prove. What is conspicuously absent from Heaven Sent’s complaint is any reference to a trademark registration for the ELEXIA mark. The suit alleges trademark and traderess infringement based upon a likelihood of confusion between the Elexa and Elexia marks and packaging. Heaven Sent Naturals, makers of the Elexia nutritional supplements for male and female sexual enhancement sold at GNC Stores has sued the makers of Trojan condoms for trademark infringement in connection with Trojan’s new line of Elexa condoms and sexual enhancement products.
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