The “Get Lucky” condom from musical duo Daft Punk is the latest form of pop-culture protection to come our way. In the past, everyone from fashion designers to politicians have either released their own or served as the inspiration for contraceptives. Rapper 50 Cent even attempted to create a new type of condom that would help men prolong their sexual performance. While nobody could figure out how to scientifically execute his idea, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other celebrity condom options. From Madonna and Ke$ha to Barack Obama and Julian Assange, see the pop-culture icons that can help you practice safe sex.
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Rapper Ludacris became the first spokesperson for condom brand Magnum in 2010. As part of their marketing strategy to reach out to the hip-hop world, it hosted a “Live Large” contest with a nationwide search for the best freestyle rap artist. When explaining his reasons for working with Magnum, Ludacris said. “For a long time, I’ve been spreading the awareness about HIV and AIDS and getting people to understand how important it is to be safe.”
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It’s not surprising that Ke$ha was involved in a condom endorsement considering some of her past actions, such as drinking her own pee on her MTV reality show. She partnered with Lifestyles in 2011 to create 10,000 condoms with her face on the wrapper. Ke$ha concert attendees were the lucky recipients as the rubbers were shot out of a cannon during her performances. “If you come to a live show, it’s a sensory assault. You will leave covered in sweat, beer, glitter, and, just maybe, you’ll get a special edition Ke$ha condom. If it breaks, you have to name your daughter or son after me,” she said.
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She didn’t give her permission, but that didn’t stop a European company from making condoms with a naked picture of Madge on the wrapper in 2001. The photo they used was taken in 1979, before the superstar made it big. The condoms were a big seller for several years, but are now out of production and sold as collector’s items.
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Beginning in 2010, the website Condomania began selling condoms adorned with the face of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a somewhat ironic move considering the sexual-assault accusations he’s facing in Sweden. The condom line, conveniently called DickiLeaks, features the slogan, “We leak more than the truth.” Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, but is still running for the Australian senate.
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It’s far from the first celebrity condom, but the Kiss condoms manufactured by Graphic Armor Inc. are the first to feature colored images on the actual latex and not just the wrapper. The condoms are FDA-approved and show a picture of Gene Simmons’s famous tongue.
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The newest celebrity condom was revealed this week when Diplo posted a picture of an opened box of Daft Punk condoms on his Instagram. The box says “Get Lucky” at the top, in reference to the musical duo’s massive summer hit from their latest album, Random Access Memories, and features a picture of the single art. It was originally reported that Daft Punk had teamed up with condom brand Durex to create the line, but a spokesperson for the company said, “There is no Durex promotion or partnership with Daft Punk.” The origin of the condoms and whether or not they will be sold to the public remain a mystery.
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During the 2008 presidential election, Say It With a Condom founder Benjamin Sherman put pictures of Barack Obama and John McCain on condom wrappers and urged voters to “Remember the Election With Their Next Erection.” The company has since expanded to include condoms featuring several political figures with corresponding taglines. Examples include Mitt Romney (“Great for any position”), Sarah Palin (“As thin as her resume”), and John McCain (“Old but not expired”). Obama condoms outsold Romney condoms during the 2012 election by 6 to 7 percent. “Democrats just seem more receptive to condoms than Republicans,” Sherman said.”
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If a presidential-nominee condom is not your preferred form of protection, perhaps you’d like a condom featuring the face of New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. The extra large Weiner Condoms were launched in 2011 following the former U.S. representative’s sexting scandal.
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To celebrate the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Crown Jewels created a special line of condoms. The company describes the wedding souvenirs as providing “a royal union of pleasure.” The royal couple obviously chose not to take advantage of their own condoms, as they’re awaiting the arrival of their first child.
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Most condom brands focus on the male demographic, but fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff took it upon herself to create a condom that would appeal to women. “I loved the idea of designing a condom that was made by a woman for a woman,” she said. “I got to use my classic studded design and apply it to the packaging, making a condom that girls can feel comfortable carrying with them.”
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