54 replies to this topic

[jvl]

why was the durex livery on john surtees cars so controversial?

[condor]

AAAAAAAArrrrgggghhh
Did someone mention the word DUREX???????

[Gil Bouffard]

Durex=Shieks=Trojans! Oh my god! It caused quite a stir back then.

It is rather amusing when you see Mark Martin racing the Viagra Ford Taurus.

I told a friend that I would not be surprised to see Monistat D or even Vagisil on a race car soon.

Gil

[Roger Clark]

Durex ran an advertising campaign with a picture of the Surtees and tha caption "A small family car"

[lynmeredith]

In Australia the term 'Durex' is applied to what in some other parts of the world is 'scotch tape'. Imagine my surprise after migrating to Australia to be asked on my first day in the office "have you got any Durex?". And by a young lady at that. Ah well I thought, it's the land of opportunity all right. We still haven't explained it to jvl though.

Lyn Meredith

[Barry Boor]

O.K, I'll bite!

In the U.K, for those who still do not know, Durex is a manufacturer of condoms (allegedly). The parent company is the London Rubber Company, (or at least, was at that time.)

The big hoo-ha was simply that a company involved in the (whisper it) sex business, should have become involved in such a clean, 'upstanding' sport as Formula One motor racing.

At the time, I thought it was because the car had purple on it!

[fines]

"a small family car"

Lyn, what was your reaction to that young lady's question?

[BRG]

To enlarge on Barry Boor's comments, the BBC were the real villains of the piece. In those days, when the BBC provided some F1 coverage for the UK, they still had some problem over sponsorship being a form of advertising - the BBC didn't allow advertising. Now this was in fact a real piece of inconsistency as they had happily televised cars sponsored by such harmless things as cigarettes for a number of years. And they happily covered commercially sponsored events in horseracing and golf. But the "distasteful" sight of Durex sponsorship made them all self-righteous again. Without the BBC making a fuss, I doubt if anyone else would have cared very much about it. But Durex got loads more publicity, so I bet they were pretty pleased!

It is curious that the British televison media are amazingly coy about things like this. It is only quite recently that TV adverts for female sanitary products like tampons was allowed. They were brought in under very strict rules, as if a huge controversy was expected. Yet the British public were completely indifferent - virtually no-one cared two hoots.

[deangelis86]

Originally posted by Barry Boor

At the time, I thought it was because the car had purple on it!

A purple end on a durex car? Now I've heard it all......

[Vitesse2]

I suppose it's a good thing Johnny Herbert wasn't old enough to drive for Surtees!!

[for non-British readers without access to a good dictionary of slang "johnny" is a slang term for condoms]

[ry6]

Does my memory serve me right in that the cars were entered by the London Rubber Company?
This at a time when other manufacturers of "rubber" products, Goodyear, Dunlop, Firestone were also involved with racing!

[Vitesse2]

Yes ry6, It was the London Rubber Company - they later changed to being called plain LRC.

[fines]

Before Surtees, in 1975 Durex sponsored the Lola/Chevrolet T400 of Richard Scott in the British F5000 Championship. When the Beeb showed one of the races live, his team had to remove all sponsor stickers from the car. Trouble was, Scott won that race (IIRC it was his only ever win in F5000), and appeared at the podium celebrations with his helmet, complete with Durex logo!

[Drinky]

Does anybody have a picture of it? When was this?

[Vitesse2]

A Durex on his helmet?? Oh dear!!!!

[David M. Kane]

Wasn't Rubert Keegan the Surtees F1 driver at the time. If I recall correctly he was a bit of a playboy and there were a lot
of promo shots with babes galore?

Regardless, a far cry from Brooke Bond Oxo sponsorship!

[Flicker]

for Drinky... and others


"Durex'ed" Scott

[Timekeeper]

David, your memory about Rupert Keegan is partly right. Surtees were first sponsored by Durex in 1976, although only on one car. The other car was sponsored by Chesterfield and driven by Brett Lunger and the Durex car was driven by Alan Jones which makes the reference to sticky tape being known as durex in Australia even more ironic.

I remember at the time reading how the sponsorship was controversial and as a naive kid wondering what was so scandalous about sticky tape! These days no one in Australia seems to refer to sticky tape as durex but back then it was all it was known as.

In 1977 Brambilla brought his Beta tools sponsorship to one car while the Durex car was driven by Hans Binder, Vern Schuppan and Larry Perkins (a couple more Aussies). This is when the "small family car" billboards were used. In 1978 Brambilla drove one Surtees in orange Beta tools livery while Keegan drove the other in part Beta part Durex livery. Keegan started F1 the previous season in a Hesketh that was part sponsored by Penthouse and there were always lots of pictures of him with models around.

[David M. Kane]

Timekeeper, good job! Isn't it great how the senior mind works!
Girls, durex and fast cars...and lots of empty space in my thoughts in between...

[BRG]

Originally posted by Timekeeper
Keegan drove the other in part Beta part Durex livery

tools and condoms?
Help, I have sunk to school boy humour level as well...

[FlagMan]

I still have one of the 'Durex Surtees Goes On Wheels' cloth badges from the time - unfortunately I never managed to aquire one of the rarer 'Durex Surtees - Auntie Wouldn't Like It' badges or stickers.

I have an abiding memory of the Brands Hatch GP when the BBC refused to broadcast the race on TV but continued with the radio broadcast - the BBC control van changed colour overnight from its 'army surplus' green to a touching shade of white, purple and gold as a result of being covered in Durex Surtees stickers.

[Carlos Jalife]

Durex was and still is used in Mexico and some other latinamerican countries as the word for Scorch tape, just like Kleenex is used instead of sanitary napkins. I dind't know what Durex was although I'd seen pictures of Alan Jones in the Surtees (didn't they have Bang & Olufsen sponsorship too in the other car or was it the year before?). I went to England and when I went to a post office to mail some package home I asked the lady if I could have some durex for the package and I said something like "not to wide, maybe an inch and maybe about a foot and a half long" and I was making graphic signs of the width and length with my hands. People in line behind me were like taking a step or two back and the lady was confused. My friend started laughing and I didn't get it until she explained and I was mighty embarrased, so I just asked for scotch tape.
Great car but Alan did quit, among other reasons, because John Surtees wouldn´t make some changes in the gear lever place so he didn't have to scrap his hand every time.
In Mexico a guy was the champion of Formula Reynard and now runs in the US FF2000 championship with partial sponsoring from SICO, another condom maker and he never gets any press mentioning that sponsor, only the others.

[Drinky]

Carlos,



Anyway, thanks Flicker for the picture, you wouldn't happen to have one of the Surtees? It's hard to imagine there'd be this much trouble over livery today, or is it? What sponsor would be considered controversial nowadays?

[Puntataco]

Dear all, does anyone has more details about how the London Rubber Company came to the idea of sponsoring Surtees with Durex?
I see the point that this is their target audience (male), but I believe that above all, it was a great PR just for the "scandal" itself...
Even though, today, I wouldn't know which kind of sponsorship would cause such a "scandal"?

[Stephen W]

At the Oulton Park F5000 race when Richard Scott made the appearance with the Durex-Lola there was quiet a stir. This was made even more so when Scott trundled down the pit lane and stopped at the pit lane exit to spin-up the rears. the commentator said "There goes Richard Scott in the Durex-Lola burning rubber!" At this point there was a burst of 'schoolboy' giggling and the commentary was switched off!

In all seriousness the only problem in the UK was with the Durex brand as it was the best known. Meanwhile other condom manufacturers still had their logos on race cars and the BBC still covered the events - e.g. EVEREST in F2.

[GMACKIE]

Were there many letters from France on the subject?

[Vitesse2]

Dear all, does anyone has more details about how the London Rubber Company came to the idea of sponsoring Surtees with Durex?
I see the point that this is their target audience (male), but I believe that above all, it was a great PR just for the "scandal" itself...

In the 1970s you wouldn't have seen any advertising for condoms in mainstream British media like magazines and newspapers - I think there may even have been an agreement among the publishers not to accept advertisements. It was a very clever move by Durex to do this as buying condoms was seen as something a "gentleman" didn't do (at least in public). When you went for a haircut the barber asked if you'd like "something for the weekend, sir?" and there was an active mail order trade where your purchase was "sent in plain brown wrapper". Otherwise, you had to brave the scary lady in the pharmacy or risk losing your money in the machine in the pub toilet: if you can find it, read Tom Sharpe's book "Porterhouse Blue" which covers this in some detail

This only really changed after the advent of AIDS and even then, I think Mates rather than Durex was the first to advertise.

Different times.

[Ray Bell]

I think it's the AIDS issue (beginning in 1980, IIRC) that makes it so hard to look at this in perspective today...

AIDS and its transmission, along with public encouragement to avoid same by using condoms, made discussion of condoms an everyday event.

Quite unlike it was previously.

[eurocardoc]

Aaaah, the good ol days! I was AJ's crew chief at Surtees in 76. Quite a stir when the Beeb refused to show the early Brands race because of the sponsor. Huge crowd turned up, big cheer when we LED the first few laps before James came by and won.
Several boxes of sponsor product were traded with other teams for various things including a huge round of parmesan cheese courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari if I recall.
Other useful (?) places for product were the ubiquitous 'balloon' on the various FOCA charter flights to races.

We also did a shoot at Brands with the late greats, George Harrison and Baz Sheene which appeared in Penthouse mag.

[Phil Rainford]

Remember there was a " Catchpole " cartoon on the subject where he is mulling over the wisdom of being sponsored by a Company whose aim was to " stop you coming first "


PAR

[Auroraf1]

There used to be a poster in my local barbers with Hans Binder in the car and underneath it said "A simple but safe formula"

[Giraffe]

Durex, "Head gaskets for hot rods"

Edited by Giraffe, 28 June 2011 - 11:16.

[Auroraf1]

How the worl has moved on. They have a range of JLS Condoms now. (for those who don't have a twelve year old daughter the are a modern beat combo!).

[cheapracer]

This thread is long but has no feeling to it.

[Red Socks]

I suspect that the marketing reason from LRC was that late 60's and early 70's they were taking a beating from the widely available contraceptive pill and were looking for a different sort of exposure. There has been little focus on the support advertising on road cars. Young ladies with Mini's were paid good money to have their cars stickered up as the ''small family car'', I had a girlfriend at the time who had one. Certainly there were plenty in London at the time and they were also paid to go to race meetings in the cars IIRC.
It was a well thought through advertising campaign whose provocative nature was probably well anticipated.

[Mallory Dan]

Wasn't the whole point of the campaign to 'normalise' the product? They wanted to be treated like any other consumer item, fags, drinks, banks, etc etc.

[alansart]

Nick Ward ran with Rendells (the family company) sponsorship in the early 80's.

[seldo]

To enlarge on Barry Boor's comments, the BBC were the real villains of the piece. In those days, when the BBC provided some F1 coverage for the UK, they still had some problem over sponsorship being a form of advertising - the BBC didn't allow advertising. Now this was in fact a real piece of inconsistency as they had happily televised cars sponsored by such harmless things as cigarettes for a number of years. And they happily covered commercially sponsored events in horseracing and golf. But the "distasteful" sight of Durex sponsorship made them all self-righteous again. Without the BBC making a fuss, I doubt if anyone else would have cared very much about it. But Durex got loads more publicity, so I bet they were pretty pleased!

It is curious that the British televison media are amazingly coy about things like this. It is only quite recently that TV adverts for female sanitary products like tampons was allowed. They were brought in under very strict rules, as if a huge controversy was expected. Yet the British public were completely indifferent - virtually no-one cared two hoots.

Maybe the BBC felt they'd had something put over them....so to speak...

[William Hunt]

I suppose it's a good thing Johnny Herbert wasn't old enough to drive for Surtees!!

[for non-British readers without access to a good dictionary of slang "johnny" is a slang term for condoms]

He should have been partnered by 'Willy' Mairesse

[ExFlagMan]

He should have been partnered by 'Willy' Mairesse

Or for the US GP - Willy T Ribb(ed)s

[Bloggsworth]

O.K, I'll bite!

In the U.K, for those who still do not know, Durex is a manufacturer of condoms (allegedly). The parent company is the London Rubber Company, (or at least, was at that time.)

The big hoo-ha was simply that a company involved in the (whisper it) sex business, should have become involved in such a clean, 'upstanding' sport as Formula One motor racing.

At the time, I thought it was because the car had purple on it!

A, perhaps, wilfull misinterpretation - It was the fact that advertising condoms on television was not allowed; F1 appeared on television, that was the bone of contention. That was long past the era when young men had drawers full of asprin bought every time they went into the pharmacists and found a woman behind the counter. As more young men were going to hairdressers rather than old fashioned barbers, they were no longer being asked if they "Required something for the weekend".

[T54]

A purple end on a Durex car? Now I've heard it all......

Here is a picture of my ex-Keke Rosberg, Canadian condom company-sponsored, Excita-Chevron F/A, from my former small family of vintage cars:



Purple turned pink!

[Collombin]

the bone of contention

Brilliant, even if unintentional.

[Phil Rainford]

Quite a stir when the Beeb refused to show the early Brands race because of the sponsor.

And actually drew more attention/column inches ( don't titter madam !!) to the product by refusing to film the race !!


PAR

[Bloggsworth]

Brilliant, even if unintentional.

Nothing is unintentional to a poet...

[Bloggsworth]

And actually drew more attention/column inches ( don't titter madam !!) to the product by refusing to film the race !!


PAR

The Law of Unintended Consequences in action...

[Vitesse2]

Unintended Consequences

Which was the whole point of the product in the first place.

[Phil Rainford]

All this chat has got me tempted

http://www.grandprix...hirt-white.html


PAR

[Bloggsworth]

Which was the whole point of the product in the first place.;)

As I said..... nothing is unintentional for a poet.

[404KF2]

...Mark Martin racing the Viagra Ford Taurus....

Perhaps Dick Trickle would have been a better match.....