Idom musical condom

Forget chocolates or roses this Valentine's Day -- a gift of musical condoms is bound to be more entertaining.

Hong Kong's condom maker¹ Ondo Creation hopes its Idom sheathes² will put a more romantic spin on safe sex.

The Idom itself doesn't sing -- but the mint, strawberry, chocolate and banana flavored condoms come in an attractive package with a music CD to get you in the mood for love.

"We create an environment for lovers who would like to try a different experience," said Victor Tsang who runs Ondo Creation.

"We try to create products that are not embarrassing, but very trendy and hip³." he added.

Cynics may scoff⁴ at the marketing⁵ gloss⁶, but the 18 month start-up's products sell across the world. The firm also won a bronze medal in the Industrial Design Excellence⁷ Awards run in conjunction with BusinessWeek magazine, which said Ondo had managed to "revitalize the image of condoms."

Tsang says his product was inspired by a desire to promote safe sex and to provide a fun, relaxed alternative for what he calls "more conservative" customers.

The brand eschews⁸ regular prophylactic⁹ distributors, instead peddling¹⁰ its wares¹¹ in bookstores, record shops and trendy nightspots in a long list of cities that includes Hong Kong, London, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Singapore.

"We're targeting more lifestyle stores, rather than pharmacies," said Tsang.

Tsang expected a 30 percent surge in sales ahead of Valentine's Day.

The Idom's Exotica, Chocotasy and Loveberry brands come with CD compilations¹² of chillout , acid jazz and dance music.