Bodyform’s #WombStories Campaign is Breaking Period Taboo

Bodyform has come forward with an authentic and powerful new advertising campaign #WombStories

“Periods are normal. Showing them should be too.”

The 3-minute advert deals with a variety of menstruation-related topics, including period pain, menopause, miscarriage, Endometriosis and also gives LGBTQA+ representation. The ad shows actual blood and actual experiences related to menstruation.

Nicola Coronado UK and Ireland consumer marketing director at Bodyform, commented, “With #wombstories we are starting a movement.”

“We want to boldly go where no other brand has been before; inside women’s bodies and emotions to truly represent their sensations and feelings that we believe are not only invisible but ignored, overlooked or denied. #wombstories reveals the narrative inside and out and we hope to put these topics on the table for all to talk about.”

In 2017 Bodyform was the first company to break down the taboo of periods, by showing a woman in a shower with blood trickling down her leg, and a man buying pads in a shop.

The Future for the Advertising of Period Products

The advertising of period products has changed over the last few years and for the good. Often referred to as ‘Women’s products’ or ‘Feminine products’ this outdated language is not inclusive of those who menstruate and do not consider themselves female.

New Zealand is taking leaps in finally using the term ‘period’ in stores. The supermarket chain Countdown will no longer see euphemisms like ‘sanitary’ used when describing period products. Terms like ‘female hygiene’ or ‘sanitary’ only elude to periods being something dirty or unhygienic and not something which is totally natural.

Long gone are the women rollerblading in white hot pants, or the blue liquid being poured on to pads — which as a child confused the hell out of me and made no sense at all.

Allowing this advert to be shown in sex ed in schools will help educate young people about periods more than any outdated textbook ever will. The Bodyform website also has loads of articles and information on a range of period related topics.