The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2021
Durex 001 teams with Volvo so its ultra-thin condom feels safest
Facing break-anxious buyers in China's 001 condom market, Durex borrowed Volvo's safety halo in a co-branded VR escape film that won D&AD's Wood Pencil
Durex · Volvo Cars
What it had to solve
In China's condom market, 001 — condoms with a thinness of 0.01mm — had become the category standard for ultra-thin technology. Durex finally launched its own 001 line after thorough safety testing, but had to convince 'break-anxious' consumers it was the safest 001 out there, under advertising rules that barred showing the product or association elements such as beds.
How it works
Durex finally brought its own 001 — condoms with a thinness of 0.01mm — into China's condom market, where 001 had become the standard for ultra-thin technology. After thorough safety testing the launch still hit a psychological wall: consumers were 'break-anxious' about anything that thin, and doubted a Durex 001 could be the safest option on the shelf.
The answer was not a safety claim but a safety halo. Durex co-created a film with Volvo, the brand Chinese consumers most instantly associate with crash-testing and protection, and framed the two products as sharing one job: keeping people safe enough to get close. In the black-and-gold short, a couple wakes from a VR-simulated dream and drives a Volvo XC40 through a fantasy landscape to '001 Island', where an invisible force field protects them — the same field that bounces a mechanical ape away twice, visualizing what an ultra-thin condom can withstand.
Amber Shanghai and director Jody Xiong built the symbolism to fit China's strict condom-ad rules, which banned showing the product or even association elements like beds. The five-minute film ran on Durex and Volvo's WeChat, Weibo and Douyin accounts from March 12–19, 2021, debuting on White Day (March 14), a holiday built around romance and closeness.
The long-form gamble paid off: the film drew nearly ten million views on social media and tens of millions of plays and discussions, and the client reportedly added RMB 12 million of media spend after seeing it. It won a Wood Pencil at D&AD 2021 and collected One Show, NY ADC, Clio Health, London International Awards and China 4A prizes, becoming one of the most awarded Chinese advertising films of 2021.
Why it lands
- It attacked the real doubt — that 0.01mm means breakage — by borrowing Volvo's instantly recognized safety authority rather than making another claim.
- Symbolic filmmaking turned China's condom-ad restrictions (no product, no beds) into an artful constraint instead of a problem.
- Two international brands co-published on their own social accounts, doubling reach and lending each other's credibility.
- The metaphors were concrete: the invisible force field stood for the condom and the car's drive and grip stood for safety, so both claims could be seen.
- A five-minute narrative stood out in a market where the common strategy was to advertise the selling point directly.
What it did
The film drew nearly ten million views on social media and tens of millions of plays and discussions in China; the client reportedly added RMB 12 million of media spend after seeing it. It won a D&AD 2021 Wood Pencil plus One Show, NY ADC, Clio Health, London International Awards and China 4A honors.
What you can take
When a product inherits a category doubt, borrow credibility from the brand that already answered it: Volvo's safety authority let an ultra-thin condom argue 'safe' through story, not claims
Since then
After its March 2021 release the film became one of the most decorated Chinese campaigns of the year: a D&AD 2021 Wood Pencil, a Bronze Pencil at The One Show, a Bronze Cube at NY ADC, a Bronze at Clio Health, Gold and Silver at London International Awards, and later a Grand Prix, two Golds and three Silvers at China 4A. Coverage credited the client with adding RMB 12 million in media spend after seeing the finished film, and director Jody Xiong went on to serve as a visual-effects director for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
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