How do sell a product to a bunch of kids who won’t even use it? SEX.
Growing up, all my friends had stickers for Mr. Zogs Sex Wax plastered on our binders, folders and skateboards — even though a lot of us didn’t surf (myself included*). Heck, some people even chewed the wax as gum (and still do, apparently). Zogs had that classic logo and cool name (via inventor Fredrick Herzog III), but what it did best was give good innuendo. Packaging with phrases like “The best for your stick” and, later on, “Quick Humps.”
It’s well worth noting Mr. Zogs is no longer the only wax manufacturer who took Marketing 101. Surf Research’s history of wax pointed me to a few even more explicit waxes that combine explicit taglines with risqué packaging.
- Sticky Deck: “For those who want control when things get tight”
- Mother’s Milk: NSFW packaging
- Vyagra: “Stay Up! Use only if you’re ready to go hard”
Ooh lah lah!
*Unless you count boogie boarding, which you shouldn’t.
Haha now I know what to do with the wax that i left in the sun and melted :[ –CHEW IT
In high school, I took a Speech and Debate class. One of our assignments was to prepare a how-to presentation, demonstrating to people how to perform a simple everyday sort of thing or hobby project.
One of the other students showed how to wax a surfboard. Unfortunately, the instructor didn’t seem to understand that Sex Wax was a really popular brand and the guy was just using what he always used. I saw that detention slip coming the moment the poor guy set the wax down on the table.
check it: http://www.surfwaxmuseum.com
Sex Wax: the only known surfboard wax to contain kelp fly pheromone, which on certain days compelled one to run for their life to the shorebreak.
Not to mention Mrs Palmer and her 5 daughter’s brand surf wax (maybe we just get that in Australia …)