From the LA Times:
A new line of condoms is grabbing headlines in China even as its sparks a debate about trademark law and promotion campaigns. The products' brand names: "Clinton" and "Lewinsky."
The condoms are sold in boxes of 12, with the brand named after former President Bill Clinton priced at $3.70 and that of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky at $2.25.
Guangzhou Haojian Bioscience Co. said it registered both trademarks and is pricing the brands differently to reflect the higher quality of the Clinton line.
"We chose the name because we think Clinton is a symbol of success and a man of responsibility. And Lewinsky is a woman who dares to love and dares to hate," said Liu Wenhua, the company's general manager.
Clinton has already been used as the 'celebrity spokesman' in a series of dodgy advertisements for a real estate development in Beijing. He was previously also offered two million US dollars to act as brand representative for a Chinese clothing manufacturer. The surname of George W. Bush, on the other hand, might become the name of a diaper brand in the near future: a man from Henan Province has applied to register the Chinese rendering of 'Bush' (bu shi) as a trademark for diapers, because it is a pun on the words 'not wet'.
Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn, September 22, 2005 02:48 PM
