Expert At Sealy tells how to bring up sex

David Perry -- Furniture Today, May 2, 2011

Sexuality educator Logan Levkoff, left, and Sealy’s Jodi Allen in the Sealy showroom at the High Point Market.ARCHDALE, N.C. — There was sex talk at Sealy during the High Point Market - and it was all part of the plan.

Sexuality educator Logan Levkoff conducted two seminars in the mattress manufacturer's showroom here on gender issues in general and sex issues in particular.

She made it clear that "sex" and "sexuality" are not dirty words, but said retailers need to be careful how they deal with those terms on the sales floor. "Intimacy" and "relationships" are better words to use, she suggested, if consumers haven't brought up sex more directly.

But Levkoff, addressing an audience of retailers and Sealy officials, brought up sex in her talk a number of times.
She shared research that shows that more than two thirds of men and women rate an innerspring mattress as the best sleep surface for sex.

"Is sex better on springs?" she asked. "Yes, and not just because I said so."

She said "we want sex to be playful, with spontaneity and bounce," and said memory foam "doesn't afford us those opportunities."

Sealy suggests the possibilities for better sex in its advertising for its new Posturepedic innerspring line. Its "Afterglow" TV commercial shows couples lying happily together. The tagline is: "It's better on springs."

Levkoff said that message is delivered in a "playful and positive way," and commended Sealy for how it is approaching the issue.

She also talked about the challenges of male retail sales associates selling female consumers. "Women feel vulnerable and unsafe" when a strange man is standing over them, she noted. Men need to be especially sensitive to women wearing dresses or skirts, she said.

Sealy's research shows that couples do many things in bed in addition to sleep, and Levkoff said it's important to realize that beds "are not just for sleep or sex."