Why Saxx Is Selling $5000 Diamond Balls this Valentine’s Day

SAXX Underwear’s unique hammock pouch design looks after men’s jewels - so what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with some custom jewellery? Working with Chicago-based creative agency Quality Meats, the brand honoured the day of love by commissioning a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted 14 karat gold necklace with an ‘upside down heart’ diamond pendant. And no - you don’t just have a dirty mind. 

Simultaneously a symbol of love and top-quality ball care, the proceeds from the $5000 piece will go to the Testicular Cancer Foundation.

Quality Meats created a promotional film for the release of the necklace, produced by BMP Film Co. in Chicago, coinciding with SAXX’s partnership with Hanky Panky Lingerie Underwear, which involves a matching set of ‘his and hers’ underwear.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, SAXX’s VP of brand marketing, Shawna Olsten says, “Valentine’s Day is a key moment for SAXX, as we know that partners are so often the ones shopping for — and introducing men to — our premium product during gifting holidays like this. Both the Hanky Panky collaboration and the ‘Upside Down Heart Pendant’ campaign are playful opportunities to connect with the partners who are such an important customer to us, while further demonstrating our obsession with comfort.”

Besides wanting to add ‘jewellery designer’ to his advertising resume, co-founder and co-CCO of Quality Meats, Gordy Sang, says that the pendant idea was borne from previous client research, where they discovered the modern heart shape may have originated from testicles. “And making a piece of jewellery with the connection to a man’s ‘jewels’ seemed like a layup,” he adds.

Hoping the unique necklace would spark conversation between couples, and tie into the existing Hanky Panky partnership, Shawna says that the idea is “a perfect metaphor” for the brand’s marketing approach. “We make a premium product that we take very seriously, but we also recognise that in order to convince our customers to treat themselves better, we can’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to walk a fine line of being provocative, and this campaign captures that spirit well.”

Wanting the necklace to be high quality, to match the brand’s attention to detail with its own products, Quality Meats tapped up jewellery designer Morgan Reed to create the unique piece. Together, they went back and forth to ensure the design was ambiguous enough to be a heart but also easily inferred as something “a bit more dangly”.

Working with BMP Film Co., the team shot the accompanying film in just a single production day, hustling to create “an odd world of guys having out in their underwear” inside Chicago’s historic Palmer House Hotel.

“From the nostalgic creative treatment (intentional ‘90s late night shopping channel vibes) to our stately spokeswoman and the fact that we never actually acknowledge the joke, but instead let the viewer come to that conclusion themselves, the spot nailed our brand tone and irreverence perfectly,” says Shawna.

“Some of our favourite lines would be: ‘Give your gentleman’s gentleboys the pillowy pouch of SAXX Underwear’ and ‘So when you treat your man’s balls, you can treat yourself’,” says Gordy. “And obviously, the visual at the end of our gentleman on camera left weirdly dancing. We call him ‘Gunter’.”

He continues, “Balls are inherently low-brow comedy, but SAXX underwear is a premium product, so we always try to elevate it to bring it into more of a ‘self-care’ positioning - but for one's balls. So it’s always better to lean into the more sophisticated vibes and language.”

This self-care positioning extends to the brand’s four-plus years of partnership with the Testicular Cancer Foundation [TCF], with whom they share a common goal of encouraging men’s self-care (starting with the balls).

“Humour aside, we’re on a mission to encourage people to take ball-care seriously,” says Shawna. 

“Each season we find ways to work with the TCF to create talk-worthy campaigns, activations and donations that do just that - and what better way to demonstrate that than by creating an over-the-top piece of jewellery celebrating hearts (and balls) everywhere?”