Safe Sex, Madonna-Style

"Madonna Condoms" are now on sale, and the mother of two is reportedly fuming over the prophylactic packages.

But hey, your past comes back to haunt you. Back in the pre-"Like a Virgin" days in 1979, when Madonna was a struggling singer and dancer, she posed nude for a photography class run by Martin Schreiber. She earned $30 and signed a standard model's form releasing all her rights. Two years ago, Schreiber sold the pictures to VDM International in Europe, which then sold the U.S. rights to CondoMania.

The New York-based sex toys and condoms company is using one of those shots on the packaging and wrappers of their Madonna Condoms.

It's just a head shot, but not apparently something Mrs. Ciccone Ritchie's prepared to give a rubber stamp of approval to.

Adam Glickman, founder and President of CondoMania, says the company received a "boilerplate, nasty cease and desist" letter from Madonna's representatives in June. He fired back a "totally within our rights" response and has not heard anything since.

The superstar entertainer had previously contested Schreiber's sale to VDM, but gave up on that legal battle when he was able to produce her signed release for the photos. Although she's not mouthing off publicly about the issue, she is reportedly upset about this sale of her image in the cause of birth control. (We guess Papa--and Mama--don't preach.)

For his part, Glickman says the use of Madonna's image to promote a safe-sex device is "quite in harmony " with what Madonna has always stood for and that her reported unhappiness is more likely "a business issue" than anything else. Signature Network, which licenses her image though her Boy Toy Inc. Company (an ideal name for a condom franchise of her own, don't you think?) has refused comment on the condoms, as has her Maverick Record label.

Glickman, 34, who began selling condoms as a sociology project when he was a student, says he picked up on the rights to market Madonna Condoms because "she has legions of fans who adore her," and because she's fully back in the spotlight with her Drowned World Tour .

"I felt they would be a big hit," Glickman says of the condoms, which sell at his Greenwich Village store and online at www.condomania.com. A packet of six (in standard beige latex, produced by Thai Nippon) costs $10.

"They are super strong and ultra sheer--strong and sexy, just like Madonna," says Glickman.

"These are fun, hip, sexy...lending Madonna's image helps reposition attitudes, gets people talking...so safer sex becomes the norm."

This is not the first time CondoMania has linked a superstar singer to condom sales. Four years ago, Glickman made a deal with Sony for limited production of Prince-related "Purple Raincoats." Now the licensing agreement on those brightly hued coveralls has expired Glickman says they have sold as collectors' items for $25 a pop on eBay.

In the three months they've been on sale, Madonna Condoms are doing well, but not as well as another CondoMania prophylactic. The company's best-selling condom is its "inSpiral" brand, which has a looser fit and bulging pouches that Glickman insists makes it look like "a dollop of whipped cream."