Saxx Is Breaking Bad on an Infamous Pair of Tighty Whities

While fans of the dearly departed series Breaking Bad may think of a certain pair of tighty whities as a coveted piece of memorabilia, Saxx saw the infamous men’s drawers purely as a marketing opportunity.

Saxx—a premium brand that leans heavily into product construction and male anatomy jokes in its consumer messaging—bought Walter White’s underpants at a prop auction recently for a whopping $32,500.

What came next involves an apparel-related kidnapping, a remote desert location and a Pontiac Aztek packed with explosives. The hostage did not survive.

“In the interest of men’s balls everywhere, we took it upon ourselves to rid the world of these primitive briefs,” Taylor McKinnon, Saxx brand manager, said in a statement. “So after much deliberation, we decided to do it in the most Breaking Bad-way possible—by blowing them to smithereens.”

A short film, dubbed Breaking Bad Underwear Habits, captures the Easter egg-filled stunt. Quality Meats, the independent agency behind the work, threw a few bones to hardcore Breaking Bad fans who might be less than pleased about the destroyed prop. There’s the Aztek, similar to the one driven by the drama’s anti-hero, along with a cameo of a wheelchair-bound man and his deadly bell.

The brand claimed that it would “stop at nothing” to keep the briefs out of circulation, hence the big bucks and the big boom. But there had been some debate about the method of destruction, according to Gordy Sang, the agency’s co-founder and co-CCO.

The partners considered “dropping them in a barrel of acid,” Sang told Adweek, but ultimately didn’t want to dispose of all the evidence. It nearly happened anyway, Sang said, when the car “burned down to the studs.”

“As a brand devoted to properly caring for men’s balls everywhere, we just couldn’t sit by idly knowing such a vile, antiquated undergarment could potentially touch another man’s nether regions,” said Shawna Olsten, vice president of brand marketing.

Brand spankin’ new

Whether anyone had planned to wear the briefs, even if they had outbid Saxx, is an open question. But the show’s Emmy-winning star, Bryan Cranston, recently said on a late-night talk show that he never wore them. They were simply an unused prop, even though they appeared tattered and stretched.

Saxx, which has been teasing the activation on its social media channels, sells its own version of the drug kingpin’s briefs, with a built-in feature called a BallPark Pouch, described as “a hammock-shaped compartment that cradles the balls for all-day comfort.”

The brand said it will donate proceeds to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every pair of the Walter White-style undies sold during the month of April.

As part of the promo, 25 consumers will receive “a commemorative charred shred” of the torched prop. The piece will only be big enough to collect, the brand says, not wear.

CREDITS:

Client: SAXX Underwear
VP of brand ,arketing: Shawna Olsten
Agency: Quality Meats
Co-Founder/Co-CCO: Gordy Sang
Co-Founder/Co-CCO: Brian Siedband
Production company: The BMP Film Co.
Director: Adam Moorman
DP: Alex Pennachia
Editor: Evan Wattles