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.
Guess appealing to consumer logic, instead of ego, was not lucrative enough. Never is, I suppose.
The ad is good, though not sure it works since the ‘comfortable’ woman seems to have stained pj-shorts. But I’m happy there were no white lycra shorts and flower-orientated-scents evaporating around her. And she’s not roller-blading. Thats a bonus too.
Ha! You nailed it, Chris.