Durex to withdraw Arouser range

Durex is pulling its Arouser range of ribbed condoms after admit ting it had overstated their sexual powers.

The company, which is also ditching its Jeans brand, was forced to change the wording on the Arouser packet last month following a complaint to trading standards authorities by law student Roy Clarke.

Clarke and his wife tested one of the UK’s biggest-selling ribbed condoms and decided it did not live up to the maker’s claims that it could “heighten” a woman’s sexual pleasure, nor was it “designed for pure pleasure”.

The London Rubber Company, which owns Durex, promised to remove the words until the claims could be substantiated. Now the offending words and the condoms, in packets featuring a red sports car powering up an incline, will be removed from the shelves.

“Arouser is going to disappear because its proposition is weak and it’s dated. But it will be available through our 45,000 vending machines for some time,” says Durex’s senior marketing manager Peter Roach.

The company claims it planned to withdraw the brand before Clarke made his complaint.

The move is part of a revamp to bring Durex up to date. It will offer a new range, called Select, featuring ribbed condoms and also flavoured versions for the first time.

The Jeans brand is being ditched following poor sales.

It will continue to offer brands such as Elite, Extra Safe, Fetherlite, Gossamer and Ultra Strong, while adding its Safe Play and Select brands to the range. All of its condoms are now hypo-allergenic (minimise allergic reaction).