Sunday, May 1, 2011

Condoms Battle Over Shelf Space - Are Trojans Playing Dirty?

via SF Gate, by Casey Newton

In nearly a quarter-century of selling condoms, David Mayer has learned one lesson above all others: When it comes to shelf displays, size matters.

Mayer, the CEO of Mayer Laboratories in Berkeley, helped to popularize ultrathin condoms, which the company sells under the brand name Kimono. By 2005, Kimono made up 3.3 percent of U.S. condom sales, including 25 percent of ultrathin condoms.

But Mayer's early efforts in the $250 million market met with strong resistance from Church & Dwight, maker of the best-selling Trojan brand.

Since acquiring the 90-year-old Trojan brand in 2001 from Carter-Wallace Inc., Church & Dwight has escalated its practice of giving retailers lucrative rebates - Mayer calls them "kickbacks" - on every condom sold.

Now Mayer is suing Church & Dwight, alleging that the New Jersey company is a monopolist that violated state and federal antitrust laws, leading to higher condom prices nationwide. The company is asking for unspecified damages and for an end to what it calls anti-competitive business practices.

The suit has attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which began a separate investigation into Church & Dwight's business practices.


Read the rest.


9 comments:

  1. What's the condom failure rate?... including the failure to use condoms. If condoms worked wouldn't the rate of new infections gone down over the many years since the promotion of condoms and so called safer sex practices? If condoms worked wouldn't the birth rate have gone down?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Condoms brought down the rate of infections in the US substantially - it is proven. We used to have something like 150k infections a year - that didn't go down to 50k a year by magic.

    The US birth rate is also lower than it has ever been.

    They work great - 98% efficacy - if used consistently and correctly. Problem is, people don't use them consistently and correctly because they don't like them, or can't use them for whatever reason.

    There are very few things that work so well...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Again, what's the condom a) failure rate?... including the failure to use condoms.

              >"Condoms brought down the rate of infections in the US substantially - it is proven."

    b) Where is proof?... not a general reference requiring further navigating, digging. The exact authoritative weblink, the exact cite with this proof by a controlled study of a large random population long range. c) How reliable are questionnaires?... where answers can be whatever participants imagined about themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Google it. You seem to have a lot of time on your hands - so start researching and please share.

    ReplyDelete
  5. >"Condoms brought down the rate of infections in the US substantially - it is proven. We used to have something like 150k infections a year - that didn't go down to 50k a year by magic. The US birth rate is also lower than it has ever been. They work great - 98% efficacy - if used consistently and correctly. Problem is, people don't use them consistently and correctly because they don't like them, or can't use them for whatever reason. There are very few things that work so well..."

    yup - when used...

    ReplyDelete
  6. yer a genius anon. sort of like seat belts. what is your point? nothing works if it isn't used.

    ReplyDelete
  7. of interest:

    Condom Effective Dossier Now Available

    Over the past year, leaders from multiple sexual health organizations in the U.S. have teamed together to create what is called the “Condom Effectiveness Dossier.” The Dossier is a review of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of condoms----designed to be used by educators and policy makers when faced with questions about condom manufacturing, condom efficacy, etc. The full Dossier includes a slide set with over 100 slides dedicated to what scientists know about condoms and their effectiveness, and also includes several videos (e.g., of the condom testing process) that can be used by faculty and other educators during lectures and other presentations.

    Our goal is to make this Dossier available as widely as possible. The full folder of the Dossier can be downloaded at the link below. I think this is one of the most comprehensive collections of information that supports the work that we do to encourage condom use and condom education.

    Please feel free to share this message with your colleagues and students and forward to groups that you think may find any of this information helpful to their work.

    http://www.msmgf.org/index.cfm/id/11/aid/3519/lang_id/1

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michael Reece, Ph.D., MPH
    Director, Center for Sexual Health Promotion http://sexualhealth.indiana.edu
    Associate Professor, School of Health, Physical Education & Recreation
    Indiana University
    http://info.hper.indiana.edu/sb/page/normal/1215.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you!... for the insightful sources cited. Please note powerpoint is evil http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
    edwardtufte.com

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

select key words

2007 National HIV Prevention Conference 2009 National LGBTI Health Summit 2011 LGBTI Health Summit 2012 Gay Men's Health Summit 2012 International AIDS Conference abstinence only ACT Up activism advocacy Africa african-american aging issues AIDS AIDS Foundation of Chicago anal cancer anal carcinoma anal health anal sex andrew's anus athlete ball scene bareback porn barebacking bathhouses bears big bold and beautiful Bisexual Bisexual Health Summit bisexuality black gay men black msm blood ban blood donor body image bottom Brian Mustanski BUTT Center on Halsted Charles Stephens Chicago Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse Chris Bartlett chubby chaser circumcision civil rights civil union Coaching with Jake communication community organizing condoms Congress crystal meth dating dating and mating with alan irgang David Halperin David Munar depression disclosure discrimination domestic violence don't ask don't tell douche downlow Dr. James Holsinger Dr. Jesus Ramirez-Valles Dr. Rafael Diaz Dr. Ron Stall drag queen Ed Negron emotional health ENDA Eric Rofes exercise Feast of Fun Feel the love... female condom fitness Friday is for Faeries FTM gay culture gay identity gay latino gay male sex gay marriage gay men gay men of color gay men's health Gay Men's Health Summit 2010 gay pride gay rights gay rugby gay sex gay youth gender harm reduction hate crime HCV health care health care reform health insurance hepatitis C HIV HIV care HIV drugs HIV negative HIV positive HIV prevention HIV stigma HIV strategic plan HIV testing hiv vaccine HIV/AIDS homophobia homosexuality hottie hotties how are you healthy? Howard Brown Health Center HPV human rights humor hunk Illinois IML immigration International AIDS Conference international mr. leather internet intimacy IRMA Jim Pickett leather community leathersex Leon Liberman LGBT LGBT adoption LGBT culture LGBT health LGBT rights LGBT seniors LGBT youth LGBTI community LGBTI culture LGBTI health LGBTI rights LGBTI spirituality LGV LifeLube LifeLube forum LifeLube poll LifeLube subscription lifelube survey Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano love lube lubricant Lymphogranuloma Venereum masturbation mental health microbicides middle Monday Morning Perk-Up MRSA MSM music National AIDS Strategy National Gay Men's Health Summit negotiated safety nutrition One Fey's Tale oral sex Peter Pointers physical health Pistol Pete pleasure PnP podcast policy politics poppers porn post-exposure prophylaxis PrEP President Barack Obama Presidential Campaign prevention Project CRYSP prostate prostate cancer public health public sex venues queer identity racism Radical Faerie recovery rectal microbicides relationships religion research safe sex semen Senator Barack Obama sero-adaptation sero-sorting seroguessing sex sexual abuse sexual addiction sexual health sexual orientation Sister Glo Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence smoking social marketing spirituality STD stigma stonewall riots substance abuse treatment substance use suicide super-bug superinfection Susan Kingston Swiss declaration syphilis Ted Kerr Test Positive Aware Network testicle self-examination testicular cancer testing The "Work-In" The 2009 Gay Men's Health Agenda Tony Valenzuela top Trans and Intersex Association trans group blog Trans Gynecology Access Program transgender transgender day of remembrance transgendered transmen transphobia transsexual Trevor Hoppe universal health care unsafe sex vaccines video violence viral load Who's That Queer Woof Wednesday writers yoga You Tube youtube