What Québec Wants™

Candle-lit dinners and massage oils over the little blue pill?

Dealing with erectile dysfunction in Québec and in the RoC

Viagra - Strolling - (2009) :15 (Canada)

Seeing this classic Viagra commercial on TV prompted me to look for data on usage of erectile dysfunction drugs among Québec men. Here’s what I found from a study conducted by the UBC Center for Health Services and Policy Research. The findings were reported on this site for generic drugs.

The survey shows interesting differences in the use of erectile dysfunction drugs based on geographic location.

It shows that Canadians spent approximately $20 billion on prescriptions drugs in 2007. The highest per capita spending on prescription drugs was in Québec where people spent $681 millions on these drugs. The lowest per capita spending on prescription drugs was in British Columbia, where people spent $43 millions on prescription drugs.

However, when you consider the category of erectile dysfunction drugs, the tables were changed. Men in British Colombia seemed to obtain or use 16 percent more of ED drugs than the average male in Canada. However, men in Québec seemed to obtain or use 16 percent less erectile dysfunction drugs than the Canadian average.

This difference in the use of erectile dysfunction drugs between Québec and British Columbia is being attributed to lifestyle differences, as well as cultural factors. The mindset of a Québec male may be such that he prefers to bring out a bottle of wine, set up a candle-lit dinner and open bottles of massage oils to set off a romantic mood, than whip out a pack of erectile dysfunction pills. Québec men seem to be more averse to taking erectile dysfunction drugs, even when their partners are encouraging them to take these.

Note that the author writes "the mindset of a Québec male may be such that he prefers to bring out a bottle of wine..." That may help with the mood but too much of it won't help with the dysfunction. Here's a Q&A on this topic from WebMD: It's difficult for you to get an erection when you've been drinking. - Drinking too much alcohol can lead to erectile dysfunction. While a glass of wine may help you and your partner get in the mood, heavy drinking can really hamper your sexual performance.

Talking about sex

Two headlines caught my attention in Friday’s newspapers.

The first in the Globe and Mail: Ontario backs down on new sex-ed program. - More explicit curriculum needs 'serious rethink', Premier says in wake of backlash.

The other in Montréal's Le Devoir: Le sexe à nue - Une exposition au Centre des sciences répond avec rigueur à des questions que se posent les jeunes de 12 a 16 ans. (Sex uncovered - An exhibit at Montreal’s science centre rigorously answers the questions that 12 to 16 year olds asked themselves. The translation is mine.)

In Ontario, the government is reacting to public pressure and is rethinking plans to talk about same sex families to Grade 3 students or anal intercourse to Grade 7 students.

Meanwhile in Québec a new exhibit at Montréal's Centre des Sciences called 'Sexe : l'expo qui dit tout' (Sex : the exhibit that says it all) is referred to as a 'breath of fresh air' by Dr Marc Steben of Quebec's National Institute of Public Health because it talks about sexuality in a way that is open, clear and very positive. And it does so with explicit language and what is described in Le Devoir's article as stunning nude photography by Luc Robitaille.  

If Ontarians aren't ready to have teachers discuss with their kids everything they've ever wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask, how about translating the exhibit for the Ontario Science Center? Its Human Body exhibit already answers questions like “Do girls have better balance than boy?” The Montreal exhibit answers questions like “Does penis size matter?”. Now that’s a Q&A.

Quebeckers more likely to sleep in the nude.

In Madmen, Don Draper spends a lot of time (daytime) naked in bed with his mistress. Yet when he crawls into bed at home at night next to his wife Betty, he wears his top and bottom pajamas (sometimes over an undershirt) and she’s equally covered. And when there is sex involved, the lights  are off. That was 1961.

If you’re wondering what happened over the past half-century, here’s the answer according to a Harris/Decima poll conducted in 2007.

33% of Canadians regularly sleep in the nude.

Men overwhelmingly prefer sleeping in the buff compared to women (40 versus 23 per cent)

Regionally, Quebeckers come out ahead on two fronts.

Quebeckers prefer sleeping in the nude more than other Canadians (37 per cent versus 34 per cent of Ontarians, 31 per cent of Western Canadians and 25 per cent of Eastern Canadians).

Quebeckers also take the prize for intimacy, with 68 per cent indicating they are intimate on a regular basis, compared to 60 per cent of Ontarians, 58 per cent of Westerners, and 57 per cent of Maritimers.

For more on what Canadians do in bed, read the report’s release.

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P.S. This post is a shameless attempt at driving visits to this blog with the hugely popular keywords ‘Madmen’, ‘sex’ and ‘nude’.

Pleasuratis in Québec

A few years ago I had the opportunity to conduct qualitative research in Montreal for condom marketer Durex. I remember the client warning me that people were typically shy about discussing such intimate matters in a focus group setting.

As the discussion warmed up (excuse the pun) and the topic shifted to the specific products the participants used, I heard about the sensations of pleasure rings and about different condom types for regular or ‘hardcore sex’. All of this was discussed in the same manner these women would otherwise discuss shampoo brands.

We also heard that Durex users were more experienced and experimenting with sex. That learning lead the way to an adapted version of a campaign running in the rest of Canada built on the theme ‘Hump Day’. We called it the ‘Cinq à sexe de Durex’ – a reference to the happy hour from five to seven.

Posters, web banners and radio spots were part of the campaign.

Durex radio 'Lapin'

Durex radio 'Cinq heures'

This focus on the pleasure seekers appears to also be the platform for a new campaign for Durex in the U.S.

Quoted in Ad Age, Stephen Mare, Durex brand manager, said that “the Durex consumer is less likely to be a first-time condom buyer, more experienced, more likely to know exactly what he or she likes in "sexual health" products, more likely to be passionate and deeply involved with their partners. It's not about a random hookup on a Friday night kind of thing."

There was nothing random about hump days and happy hours.

Sex in advertising

New Yorkers, who are not easily offended, find that Calvin Klein has crossed the line with this poster of a girl and her three male friends.

I guess it all depends where you are.

Would this poster get the same reactions in Montreal or Toronto?

Quebeckers appear generally more tolerant of sex in ads and in movies than Canadians in the ROC.

Leger Marketing surveyed Canadians’ opinions on advertising in 2001 and specifically asked about whether there is too much violence, sex, humour or information.

Quebec was the province least likely to say that there is too much sex in advertising.

And, more recently, PMB 2008 asked about agreement with the statement “it horrifies me to see many sexual images in articles and films”. Quebeckers were significantly less likely than Canadians in the ROC to agree with the statement.

By the way, also according to PMB 2008, Quebeckers are significantly less likely to agree with the statement “an unmarried girl of 18 should not have sexual relations”.

No data available about doing so simultaneously with three guys.

Quebec women are more “limber”?

A new study by Leger Marketing & Sun Media very creatively called "The Great Canadian Male Sex Survey"  – a survey the authors claim “goes deep” - offers an entertaining, albeit somewhat cheesy, break from all the election polls.

Sun media asked various sex experts to provide penetrating insights. Here’s one about Quebec women from Sarah Rowland, 24 Hours relationships writer:

A meager 58% of B.C. men are sexually satisfied with their current partner. Likewise, guys in Ontario and the Prairies seem pretty lukewarm about their mates’ performance in the sack. In Quebec, however, a whopping 72% of the men polled couldn’t be happier with their bed buddies.
I guess there’s a reason Cirque du Soleil was founded in la belle province. Clearly, the women are just way more limber there.

More limber?

Practice makes better

Perhaps practice makes better. Data from the 2002 year-end poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel for Maclean’s magazine, Global TV and Southam News found that 76% of Quebeckers said they are sexually active – making them the most active lovers in Canada. Ontario held the last-place position at only 54%.

Catholics and sex : They get more of it and have more fun

Rev. Andrew Greely, a prominent sociologist, is the author of Sex : The Catholic Experience. His book reviews survey data from 1989 to 1991 on American’s sexual behaviour collected by the National Opinion Research Center. He claims that while Catholics might be repressed, they are less repressed than others.

His findings include:

• More than two-thirds of Catholics engage in sex at least once a week, compared with 56% of non-Catholics.
• Among older persons, half of Catholics age 55 and older report having sex at least once a week, compared with 40% of others.
• Catholics also rate higher on “sexual playfulness.” For example, 30% of Catholics say they have purchased erotic undergarments either often or sometimes, compared with 20% of others.

You might be asking what this has to do with building brands in Quebec?

It matters if your selling condoms, not just as contraceptives, but as pleasure providing devices. It’s exactly what we did in Quebec a few years ago for Durex with a campaign about the “Cinq a sexe” (a play on the words “cinq a sept” or happy hour from five to seven pm.)

We also conducted qualitative research on condoms and other related products such as this “pleasure ring” and I can confirm that many Catholic women in the groups were quite familiar with the device.  And this focus group was the first confessional they had gone to in a long time.

If you care enough to send the very best.

Hallmark might be all about good old American values. But it also knows a growing market opportunity when it sees one.

And even if most U.S. states still don’t recognize gay marriage, Hallmark does by introducing same-sex wedding cards — featuring two tuxedoes, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers. The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony.

As expected, organizations such as People For The American Way aren’t pleased. Here’s an excerpt from a press release it issued this week:

Hallmark is jeopardizing its brand as a family-friendly company.  Customers used to be able to trust Hallmark to produce quality products that were safe for all ages.  Now parents will need to steer their kids from Hallmark's section of the greeting card aisle and away from its previously heartwarming movies for fear that they too will push homosexual messages.

You can read more on the organization’s website - Hallmark Helping Destroy The Family

Same-sex unions in Quebec

Same-sex marriages were legalized in July 2005 following recognition by the Supreme Court of Canada. Some provinces had already legalized same-sex marriages, beginning with Ontario and British Columbia in 2003 and Quebec in 2004.

The 2006 Census collected, for the first time, information on same-sex married couples. The collection of this information in the census relies on self-identification by respondents of their same-sex common-law or married status.

CBC report on the 2006 Census on YouTube 

The Census reports 45,350 same-sex couples in Canada (37,885 same-sex common-law couples and 7,465 same-sex married couples) and 13,685 same-sex couples in Quebec (12,425 same-sex common-law couples and 1,260 same-sex married couples). Source Statistics Canada

It’s interesting that the ratio of common-law and married couples in Quebec among same sex couples tends to mirror the general pattern observed in the province among couples of the opposite sex. (See this previous post about common-law unions in Quebec for more data on this)

Canadians and Quebeckers generally support the concept of same sex marriage.

A survey by Ipsos-Reid conducted in November 2004 found that 71% of Canadians support the idea. The Canadians most likely to believe that same sex marriage ‘should be fully recognized and equal to conventional heterosexual marriages” are residents of B.C. (44%), followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (40%), Quebec (39%), Ontario (38%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (37%) and Alberta (36%).