The word “condom” is always associated with the male genital where the rubber contraceptive device is worn to prevent pregnancy and spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
Ordinarily, when men gather and compare sizes of their manhood, the basis of who is the greatest is the guy with the longest or thickest member. But when condom manufacturers compare size, it’s not the length or the girth but the thinness of the latex.
In this battle for world records, a fraction of a millimeter counts. Chinese condom maker Guangzhou Daming United Rubber Products won over Japanese firm Okamoto by just 0.002 millimeter. Okamoto used to be the champion when it set a record by making its condoms 0.038 millimeter in 2012. The record was recognized by the Guinness World Record.
A year after, Guangzhou Daming challenged Okamoto and came up with a condom that is 0.036 millimeter thin. The Chinese firm then challenged in court Okamoto’s continued use of the phrases “Guinness World Record” and “world’s thinnest” in May 2014 when Guangzhou Daming broke the record in December 2013.
Guangzhou Daming filed in September 2014 a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Yuexiu District People’s Court, which on Monday declared that Okamoto is engaged in unfair practices. To prove that what matters is setting the record straight which is the thinnest, the Chinese firm asked for a damage of only 1 yuan ($0.15) to compensate for its alleged economic loss.
But while Guangzhou Daming won the war against Okamoto, it lost the battle with Chinese consumers who said they only learned of the Aoni condom when the lawsuit was reported. The small amount of damage asked by the Chinese condom-maker made some netizens comment on Sina Weibo that Guangzhou Daming is a publicity hound.
In fact, in 2015, a lot of the 2.8 million Chinese who visited Japan looked for and purchased Okamoto condoms, helping boost the shareprice spike of its maker. Likewise, Chinese Lunar New Year visitors to Japan no longer bought hi-tech toilet seats as souvenirs but instead purchased Japan-made condoms.
Okamoto President Yoshiyuki Okamoto agreed that the lawsuit is self-promotional. Guangzhou Daming General Manager Victor Chan said the nominal amount of damage it asked was because the company did not want the lawsuit to be stuck on economic losses.