By: Adnan Arnautlija
In recent days, an ad for sanitary pads has become viral, above all because it approaches a sensitive advertising topic with an unusual twist, breaking taboos in the process.
London agency AMV BBDO did an ad for the Red.fit campaign of the U.K. brand Bodyform, in which the underlying message is that period shouldn’t stop women to do what they want. So far nothing out of the ordinary, except that the message is served in a different way than usual.
There are no smiling friends on the dance floor, there’s no cycling through a long alley in white pants, and most importantly, there so vial with bright blue liquid that’s supposed to symbolize blood.
No, instead of the dance floor in a nightclub here is a ballerina who vigorously exercises even though her feet are already bloody from the effort. Instead of a bicycle and white pants there is mountain-bike and arduous forest path. Instead of blue liquid in a test tube there’s a bloodied nose of a boxer.
https://youtu.be/8Q1GVOYIcKc
“No blood should hold us back” says the line in the ad, and it’s well illustrated using scenes from sports and the inevitable blood and sweat that must be shed in order to progress, so if such blood can’t stop you, why should the period.
The campaign received many praise on social networks, as people hail it as a step towards true equality and a revolutionary change in the way of advertising. There are also really witty comments such as this one:
BREAKING NEWS: Scientists finally admit women don’t leak bright blue liquid on a monthly basis#Bodyform #adverisinghttps://t.co/4AnanVWsEH
— Sarah McMullan (@SarahMcMullanNZ) June 5, 2016
