CORNWALL, England—Doxy’s 2015 release Skittle has been rebranded as The Don.
The rebranding efforts were spawned in part because confectionary kingpins Wrigley, makers of Skittles candy, challenged Doxy's application for an American trademark on the massager, which was so named because it resembles the pins used in an old European lawn bowling game called skittles. The pleasure product manufacturer decided to phase out Doxy Skittle in the international market and to relaunch the product worldwide in line with what they'd learned about how Skittle was being used.
“We initially marketed Skittle for all-over stimulation, a powerful all-purpose massager that can pleasure both internal and external erogenous zones,” said William Garland, co-owner of Doxy. “In the weeks following sale, the reviews started to roll in and it became clear that the Doxy Skittle was being favored for anal play. It became a bit of an underground whisper, whenever someone mentioned they were getting a Skittle, the advice was ‘put it in your bum’.”
With a cease-and-desist on their hands and a bustling American sex toy market, the decision was made to amalgamate all of the feedback they'd received and use it to relaunch Skittle as The Don by Doxy—a powerful anal vibrator.
"There were a lot of mixed messages about what Doxy Skittle was for and it made for a tough sell in a busy market." said Garland. "We've learned a lot from reviewers in terms of what The Don can do for people's sex lives. We've listened to what they've had to say and geared our marketing around the practicalities of the toy. We've presented the abilities of The Don as an anal toy on the new packaging and in our new marketing material, and we're keen to help retailers in making the transition to The Don as an anal toy."
The new name also comes with a change in packaging: gone is the pink and white window box and in its place is is completely enclosed, sophisticated black packaging. The toy may remain unchanged, but the look, feel and consumer message for The Don couldn't be more different. Doxy is hoping to carve a niche in the anal vibrator market.
So, what does that mean for retailers? A range of support material is available to online retailers, including images of the product and packaging, example descriptions and advice on use. In-store retailers will benefit from the improved packaging which includes full product specs, product selling points and advice on how it can be used.
North American based retailers who are interested in stocking The Don should get in touch with North American Distributions Director Ruby Goodnight at [email protected].
