So at first I thought this was a joke, a social commentary on the insane sex laws in Dubai (out of marriage sex = prison and deportation) but then the order process seems to work, it let me as far as the "confirm order" button (didn't click because of fake address) and there seems to be no hint of a joke anywhere unless you're already aware of the sex laws in dubai, which most people aren't?
Put me out of my misery, is this a joke? If it's just marketing ("lol a condom delivery app!") why is the article here reporting it as fact, or are they in on the joke to. I'm so confused.
It's probably both. It probably actually works and there is a delivery service to coordinate Dubai deliveries of this, but the city choice, the video and the PR outreach around it definitely feel like a guerrilla marketing effort to me. I'd be interested to see how long the app actually works for. My bet is it's quietly shuttered in Dubai after 3 to 6 months.
It's pretty easy to see a strategy that says after the initial worldwide buzz of a Dubai launch dies down that the app quietly shuts down after 3 to 6 months and then launches in Vegas, Bangkok, UK, etc. to drive local buzz there.
- There is a big difference between having laws and actually enforcing them, Sex (out of marriage) is probably on of the primary factors of Dubai's lifestyle.
still though,I believe that app is more of a marketing thing.
I don't think it would work in Dubai, The people here already carry condoms in their wallets/purses everywhere ..
You do know married people still use condoms right? Although yes you are correct the sex laws of the UAE are rather "insane" (when I was there the other month a guy in McDonald's was arrested for being overly affectionate) there are no laws against it after marriage.
Nearly every gay bar in London have a big perspex box on the counter with free condoms. And nice do-gooder types from AIDS prevention charities who wander around giving out condoms.
Given the multitude of health and social problems that not using condoms brings to people gay and straight, I'd suggest it's high time that they start doing this in more (non-gay) bars and nightclubs.
For the cost of a small piece of rubber, society can reduce unwanted pregnancies, expensive abortions (20¢ for a bulk-purchase condom vs. hundreds of dollars for terminations), HIV transmission and all sorts of other sexually transmitted diseases.
As preventative public health measures go, providing condoms free in bars and nightclubs seems like a sensible strategy.
> If you start just handing out condoms to drunk people 90% of them are going to be used for purposes other than their intended one.
Yes, but they're not that expensive to buy in bulk.
> I would guess that in most cases they are not used because they make sex less fun rather than because they are unavailable.
There are times when you just don't have one. My ex was a bit paranoid and would never have sex without a condom, so less fun was a non-issue. You can't safely store a condom next to your body, so keeping one in your pocket is sub-optimal. You can't leave them in your car for the same reasons. You can keep them stocked at home, but sometimes you end up at "her place" and maybe she ran out or you forgot to bring more over. Sometimes you go on a weekend trip and forget to pack them, but only discover this at midnight. Sometimes stuff happens, and in that moment, people will pay a lot to have one.
“…going to be used for purposes other than their intended one.”
I used to volunteer in an improv troupe sponsored by the local family services organisation. Part of that was doing issue-oriented shows, AIDS education, that sort of thing. We quickly learned that you can only hand out condoms to people in “serious mode”—if you do it right after a comedy sketch, there are slippery balloon animals on the horizon.
“…they make sex less fun…”
Depending on the individual, of course. I like condoms because they mitigate some of the sensitivity from multiple rounds.
The company says its couriers are discreet and will show up dressed as either a pizza man, a police officer or a tourist so as to not draw attention from neighbors or passers-by.
Sure, having police officers show up at night won't draw any attention whatsoever.
Potentially political point: will the service deliver to people under 18? Arguably those are the folks most likely to benefit from this service.
I'm aware that what I'm saying isn't universally accepted, so disclaimer: yes, it is my personal opinion that it's fine for underage kids to have sex as long as they use protection.
For context:
Your "use case" should be, there's a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html
Just because there are circumstances where presence of a condom makes the difference doesn't mean it does so in every case; the app would still get some people laid (and keep other people safer).
That's what people's behavior should be, when they are having sex outside a long-term, tested, monogamous relationship... It doesn't translate perfectly into reality.
That's the opposite of what rational behavior should be. Always condoms until the 6th month of a relationship, then without only after test results come back.
That sounds like what I said, though I didn't spell out specific parameters on what was meant by "long-term, tested, monogamous relationship".
If one is going to be having sex outside of such a relationship (by which I had meant "when one is not in such a relationship" although I suppose it would apply to cheating too), one should be wearing condoms, yes? That's the part I was talking about, and I don't see how it's the opposite of what people should be doing.
I have been to Dubai a total of eight times since 1997. My last stay there was in '09, which lasted nearly 8 months.
It is not a place that is easy to navigate by any measure, regardless of the hour. Durex has their job cut out for them. The streets of Sharadiya, for example, are not a place where I would enjoy to be doing deliveries at 2am. Granted, other cities (London, Vegas, Phuket, Barcelona) will have different behavioral mechanics for this sort of business, but that misses the mark altogether.
The main point is this: a shift in paradigm is what's needed regarding sexual health and protection. Seeing condoms as something that people will wait for (for up to 1 hour, no less) before they engage in sex is a catastrophic bag of fail.
The whole point of prevention is —well— being prepared, ahead of time, on the ready.
A monthly condom delivery service like Mexico's http://rubberit.co is something I can see growing on better footing. It's sustainable in that it retains clientele through membership, it is discreet in that it allows the user to place any name as the sender, and it is also socially engaging because for every condom they sell they donate another one to rural and disadvantaged communities.
I mean, good luck to Durex. Their promo is bad ass. But I can see their project folding by mid-year. (Sorry for the long rant.)
I know it's only a commercial (maybe for the superbowl even), but tourists walking around at night with a map eh? Even in some very decent neighborhoods I think that screams "mug me" lol.
A great way for the condom delivery guy to approach the customer would be to pretend to be a friend you were hanging out with early that's returning something you forgot at a bar :)
A monthly mail delivery would be better, no? I had thought of this and when I researched I think I found something like that i.e. monthly condom delivery already exists and did not think about it any more. Btw, a yearly delivery of new underwear and undershirts for men would be another thing that is needed if it doesn't already exist.
You can "subscribe" to certain products (mostly grocery items I think, in my limited purview) on Amazon. Condoms are among the products they offer, available for delivery every 1–6 months.
Check out manpacks.com for men's shirts, underwear, and sock packages. I think they also have razors too, but I am fully satisfied with Dollar Shave Club for those.
Put me out of my misery, is this a joke? If it's just marketing ("lol a condom delivery app!") why is the article here reporting it as fact, or are they in on the joke to. I'm so confused.