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| Yo-Bonic Condomini Yo - ver 2 (filled) |
| Exhibit #5116 |
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| Type | Production |
| Shape | Standard (-) |
| Axle | Fixed |
| Finish | Unfinished |
| Color | Blue, translucent |
| Packaging | Carded |
| Construction | Multi-piece plastic |
| Response | None |
| Gap | Fixed |
| Condition | Mint |
| Date | 1999 |
| Owner | Rick Brough |
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The Yo-Bonic, better known by its predecessor the year before as the Condomini Yo, version 2, was a bizarre yo-yo released during the last yo-yo boom in the late 1990s. It included an actual Aladan Gold Circle Coin-brand prophylactic in the hollow body cavity of each halve. A clear lens cover was snapped into place on each halve, holding in the gold foil "coin". While you might be tempted to remove the side caps, the card states, The condom is not intended for use. The clear yo-yo with translucent dark blue rims was made from polycarbonate and used a brass, fixed axle. See also the Froggie Yo for another hollow body yo-yo from Yo-Bonic.
The upper-left corner on the front of the card has a caricature drawing of Yo-Bonic's "CEyO" Maria Carilyo.
Yo-Bonic previously released this same yo-yo with the Aladan Gold Circle Coin prophylactic but with a much racier mounting card that said "The Novelty Yo-Yo with a Unique 'Safety' Feature Inside". See the Yo-Bonic Condomini Yo, version 1.
In trying to understand why this kind of yo-yo was released in a market that primarily targeted children and youth, Maria Carilao, founder of Yo-Bonic Yo-Yos in Seattle explained it this way on Entrepreneur.com in April 20, 2006.
"[Maria] makes up for a limited marketing budget with energy, vision and raw nerve... "
Carilao has become a master of attention-getting. She drives a psych-"Yo"-delic Volvo station wagon covered with hundreds of colorful yo-yos; dresses as "Yo-Yo Girl" for store appearances; and peppers her conversation with "Yo speak," a hip play on words. (For example, she calls herself the world's first CEyO.)
"I didn't have money for a marketing campaign when I started, so I had to be really out there and in buyers' faces to get attention," says Carilao. Not all the attention has been positive, though. Her limited-edition Presidential Blo-Yo, sold briefly last fall, featured caricatures of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in packaging that played off of "Zippergate."
"Not everyone thought the Blo-Yo was in good taste," says Carilao, "but sometimes you have to take a chance and be in the public's face in a bold way in order to be seen."
What makes her marketing madness work is that it's more than just hype. Says Carilao, 'I know I have a solid product to back up my aggressiveness.'"
(Haupt, Jennifer. "That's Outrageous!" Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur Media, Inc. 20 April 2006, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/21676. Accessed August 31, 2020.)
Original retail price: $10 US.
Of interest...
To see all hollow filled yo-yos in this museum, in the left panel, select Exhibits. In the right pane, in the Name/Model field, type filled, then select Browse. | |
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