Blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research
Via Tracy Clark-Flory at Broadsheet, I learned of this new internet campaign from Stayfree.
At last, my girlish fantasies realized! I have always dreamed of a man who would have dinner almost ready when I got home, and then mansplain the intricacies of feminine hygiene products while the risotto simmered.
Except I grew up in the 1970s, so my fantasy man shaved his face, not his chest, before our date.
[See also A date with Ryan and A date with Trevor.]
The lovely ladies of LunaPads have made a sweet little video that explains why you should make the switch from paper products to cloth pads – in less than 90 seconds!
If you’ve already made the switch, this is an easy way to persuade your friends. You can email it, Tweet, share it on Facebook, heck, cue it up on your smartphone and show it to ‘em!
Procter & Gamble femcare ads are such an easy target. It’s shooting fish in a barrel.
Periods = lightning? Really? And the classic deictic euphemism, “it”, well, that just makes me tired.
At least there’s no blue liquid.
This ad for Lifestyle stretch fit menstrual pads is actually a sticker placed over the drain in sinks of public restrooms. There are no flowers, no gauzy white dresses or white spandex pants, and it demonstrates the key features of the product, such as adaptable fit of the pad and absorbency, and there’s no blue fluid anywhere in sight.
What do you think, readers? Does it make you want to buy Lifestyle brand pads?
[via Copyranter, who tells us that this ad was produced by Johannesburg ad agency TLC Marketing]
Found on the web
The latest magazine ad for Always pads (pictured at right) reads, “97% of women who tried Always Infinity said they’d recommend it to their friends.” Smaller print notes that these data are from a survey at Always.com — suggesting a self-selected population of women who like Always. Respondents who won’t recommend the product are dismissed as women who never like anything.
Sounds like someone’s been reading Darrell Huff’s classic book, How to Lie with Statistics!
One of my Women’s & Gender Studies graduates, who is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Gender & Sexuality Studies, recently sent me this Kotex ad from last fall. (She received it from one of her students — don’t you love how that chain works?)
This ad predates Kotex’s all-new we’re-so-hip-and-cool-we-don’t-have-to-tell-you-how-great-our-products-are campaign by at least six months. Lisa found the names of the illustrated sleeping positions disturbing, but what I find interesting about this ad is that it seems to be doing exactly what I’ve suggested femcare ads should do: it tells us why the products are worth shelling out my hard-earned money. There’s no patronizing crap about flowers or freshness, and mercifully, no blue fluid. 
Just “the most coverage of any ultra-thin pad” so that you can “sleep comfortably and move freely”. Because periods happen.
Over the last week, I thought I had participated in enough discussions of Kotex’s new “Break the Cycle” campaign; we had a lengthy discussion here at re:Cycling, and I’ve joined in the comments at several other ladyblogs, as have my co-bloggers. But then I discovered there are more videos!
Don’t expect to see any of these on U.S. television, but they’re definitely worth checking out: in one, a man seeks the advice of other shoppers in selecting the right tampons for his girlfriend (hint: her height and weight really aren’t relevant); in another, people appear reluctant to identify ink blots that resemble a human vulva, more so than identifying those that resemble a human penis. And you won’t believe the names for both. But I think this one is my favorite:
I want to be able to just press the play button on this one the next time I hear someone say, “What?!? There’s a Society for Menstrual Cycle Research?!?”
Magazine advertisement for Stayfree Maxi-Pads, March 2010.
In the ongoing femcare arms race, manufacturers compete to promote the latest technology in menstrual wear. We’ve seen LeakLock®, Four Walled Protection®, Built-in Backup® Skirt, Clean SorbTM Cover (I am not making this up, to borrow an old line from Dave Barry), and now THERMOCONTROLTM technology.
But it’s illustrated with one of the world’s oldest technologies for period management: Just tear off a piece of your shirt. There. Isn’t that nice – soft and absorbent?
By the way, the fine print at the very bottom of the ad reads, “DRAMATIZATION. Stayfree® Ulta-Thins are not made from the same material as athletic fabric.”
This week, Kotex is launching a new campaign “that aims to encourage women to talk candidly and without embarrassment about periods and vaginal care”. Research statistics from the brand indicate that “vaginally-aware women” are more likely to have a positive body image (40% vs. 31%) and to be satisfied with their level of self-confidence (64% vs. 43%) and ability to express themselves (76% vs. 55%). In the same survey, 70% of women said they wish society would change the way it talks about vaginal health, but less than half feel like they can do anything about it.
Of course, this means new products from Kotex. But from where I sit, there’s little new here. The products seem to be the same old Kotex pads and tampons, now individually wrapped in bright, “fierce” colors instead of the usual pastels. The same old plastic applicators are now yellow, blue, or green, instead of just pink. The anti-ad advertisement technique (see video at right) was pioneered by Sprite (a CocaColaTM product) in their mid-1990s “Image is Nothing. Obey Your Thirst.” campaign. The Sprite ad was featured in Douglas Rushkoff’s 2001 film, The Merchants of Cool, as an example of how corporate advertising appropriates youth culture to appeal to young people.
The iPad is not even available yet, but there are already iPad accessories on the market. Be the first on your block to get the iMaxi – the Apple iPad Case with Protective Wings.
With its durable vinyl outer layer and plush, quilted-cotton sleeve, the iMaxi helps keep your iPad clean and dry. Plus, the iMaxi’s Velcro-latched, advanced wing design wraps snugly around your device, so your iPad always stays where it should. Best of all, it shields it from all those unsightly and embarrassing data leaks that would make any motherboard worry!
But hurry and order – the red iMaxi is already sold out!
[via Jezebel]
NBC New York’s website just announced an upcoming presentation titled “That Not So Fresh Feeling: Marketing Embarrassing Products To Women,” to be hosted by DoubleX (the ladyblog spin off of Slate.com) on February 22. The panel of experts includes Susan Kim, co-author of FLOW: The Cultural Story of Menstruation; Sarah Haskins, creator of Target: Women for Current TV; former “Colbert Report” executive producer Allison Silverman; and Hanna Rosin, co-editor of DoubleX and contributing editor at The Atlantic Monthly.
I’m not sure exactly who is the intended audience for this presentation, but nevertheless I’m disappointed that no one from the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research appears to be on the panel. Consider this an open invitation to any of our readers who will be in New York and able to attend the event to write a guest blog entry about it for re:Cycling.
Details
That Not So Fresh Feeling: Marketing Embarrassing Products To Women
February 22, 7PM
Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby Street; 212- 334-3324
Free
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