Philips To Launch Respectable Sex Toy Range

Electronics giant Philips has just announced that they are launching a range of ‘respectable sex toys‘ for couples.

The respectable sex toys are set to be targeted at couples 35+ who find the rampant rabbit to be ’smutty’.

Philips should be in an ideal position to cash in - after all they already have a great range of respectable sex toys in the form of their electric toothbrushes.

So far Philips have been pretty tight lipped about the range of sex toys but all we know is that they have been designed to be ‘Warm Intimate Massage’ which will gently vibrate, be designed to be non-penetrative and will come in either a double or single version.

“We were looking for products that wouldn’t replace one or the other partner. With more targeted products one partner feels left out,” said Sheila Struyck, head of innovation at Philips, when explaining the thinking behind the couples’ toy.

Philips is convinced there a huge market for respectable sex toys. Sales in the UK of similar products total £75 million and are expected to rise to £115 million by 2011 but Philips believes that its device could expand that market segment by £60 million.

Personally I think they will have a hard time beating the rampant rabbit vibrator for sheer popularity and could never beat the Lelo vibrator - a toy that I personally feel is one of the sexiest items ever made.

Philips hopes to create the range as a Christmas gift for couples and that is why the device is none penetrative, unlike traditional vibrating massagers. Presentation and visual appearance is key.

So this all sounds like a lot of marketing and PR hype to me; the real test will be when we get one to field test and see if this respectable sex toy can better everything else out there or if it’s a failed attempt and Philips should stick to making electric toothbrushes that can be used as vibrators.