Feminine hygiene company Thinx is launching their first national US advertising campaign - and it depicts a world in which men get periods too.
Running just over one minute with the tongue-in-cheek title “MEN-struation,” the advert imagines what it would be like if everyone got periods.
The clip places cisgender men in scenarios recognisable to those who’ve ever experienced the monthly bleed: bending over in the mirror to check no stains are visible on light-coloured clothing, asking friends for a tampon and curling up in bed with cramps.
The climax sees a man and woman kissing before he pauses and tells her:“I’m on my period.”
“Me too,” his partner smiles, as text flashes up.
“If we all had them, maybe we’d be more comfortable with them,” it reads.
Created to advertise Thinx’s leak-resistant period underwear, the company also hopes the commercial will spark a conversation.
"Part of our DNA is to start conversations and open up subjects we haven't been able to open up before," Siobhan Lonergan, chief brand officer of Thinx told Adweek.
"If we all had periods, would we be more comfortable about them? And so we used certain vignettes and placed them in everyday situations really to highlight some of the challenges we all face with periods."
However, it’s not been all smooth sailing to get the advert on TV. Thinx was first forced to cut out a scene showing a blood stain altogether before any networks would agree to run the spot.
Then, despite the changes, CBS still declined to accept the ad due to a moment where a tampon string is visible, as executives said it was too “graphic.”
The channel later said it was reviewing the decision and would accept an ad from Thinx after the New York Post reported on the case.
The ad comes at the same time as period campaigner Amika George has encouraged people to share their stories about menstruation, via social media, in order to tackle the stigma surrounding periods.
