Condon Companies history

Even as the number of contraceptive options expanded, contraceptives remained illegal until 1965, when the Supreme Court, in Griswold v.

Marv Howell, who started his accounting career at Harris, Reames, and Ambrose in Lansing, was sent to replace Waldorf in 1966 even though he was relatively young, and not a partner at that time.

Upon graduation, Harold March began working at the Hillsdale office in June of 1969.

On October 1, 1971, the Grand Rapids and Hillsdale offices formed Vanatter, Howell, and Co., with Marv Howell managing the Hillsdale office.

However, condom advertising remained illegal until another Supreme Court decision in 1977.

Tom Condon joined the firm in 1980, one year before the split.

Condon held presidency for 25 years, until he sold it in 1985.

Yet networks continued to ban condom advertising, even though United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said that condom ads should be shown on TV (a few PSAs were shown in 1986). Networks feared alienating conservative consumers, many of whom were opposed to birth control.

He then became a partner in 1988.

The first national broadcast ad, which was for Trojan condoms, didn’t air until 1991.

Following his death the firm became known as Osbourne, March, Condon, and Co. in 1992.

In fact, the first condom ads didn’t air on primetime national TV until 2005.

As recently as 2007, Fox and CBS refused to air an ad for Trojans because the ad mentioned the condoms’ contraceptive uses.

So it should come as no surprise that, in 2017, condom ads are still fighting against stigmatization.