A revolution in sanitary product advertising?!

Meangadh

I wasn't really sure where to put this- I thought of Cool Vids first but I think it's more than just a cool video.

I think the vocabulary used in the ad is brilliant- it just tells it like it is. Plus there's no stupid blue liquid and girls riding horses and wearing white pants etc.

The Bodyform one from a while back was good, but this one is better. Plus very clever marketing- get the girls while they're younger into your product and they could stay loyal to you for a long long time. Much more effective than using adult women to advertise the product.

I think it's genuinely very funny too. What do ye think of it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XnzfRqkRxU

Morag

I don't think it is, I think how the young girl is portrayed towards the end of the clip is harsh and not needed. Really they parody an empowered girl and then make her ubercontrolling and show the 'power' going to her head as a way to sell mail order tampon? Really?

Not buying it.

rainbowtrout

Ya it was funny for the first few seconds but the whole 'suck it up and get over it' bit just allows people and men in particular to believe that the pain is not a big deal and women are moaning for no reason, when some people do suffer a lot . It could have been toned down a lot and not have the girl as a dictator type and would have worked just as well.

Meangadh

Yeah true- I suppose I was looking at it in a more "at least it's better than the usual crap" way but yeah I see where ye're coming from alright.

And as someone who was sick as a dog with period pains two weeks ago I definitely wouldn't have appreciated someone telling me to get over it!

I don't think though that it's supposed to be taken that seriously but I do understand the point ye make. I did think it was funny though.

I like the ad, with the exception of the 'Get over it!' bit, although I think it was a sort of boot camp reference as opposed to a preferred attitude. I especially enjoyed the 'menstruation demonstration' . I think the character was played as though the power of being the first in her peer group to have the inside track went to her head, and I thought it was obviously a joke as such. I also think showing very young girls getting to grips with the issue was good, as it's usually smiling adult women, blessedly free from uncertainty, that the usual ads show. I'm sure young girls just starting out on the journey will identify more with the characters in this ad, the peer pressure, the old hands...all that stuff.

I think it should win an award for it's departure from all the usual cliches....

White jeans....Check!
Vial of blue water...Check!
Close up of bottom in bikini...Check!
Girl (probably in throes of cramping and exhaustion) beaming in delight at the sense of security her tampon gives her....Check!
Optional skating/horseriding/swimming/cycling...Check!
Cheesy music and tagline...Check!
Irritating symbolic character (I'm looking at you Mother Nature)...Check!

Have a happy period everyone!!

Big Tanya

It is funny.

December2012

It's good that it focuses on the girls with the most questions, ie the teens, instead of the other ads aimed at women.

Pang

It's a bit over the top at times but overall I like it because they use girls who actually look normal and who are entering/starting puberty. I think it's a good advertisement for preteens and young teenagers. It's informative and also highlights to them girls of different sizing who are their own age.

I really hate the ads where all these glamorous, thin women and female teenagers are walking around all happy in their high heels. They are some of the most unrealistic advertisements on television and do nothing for the self-esteem of young people.

FouxDaFaFa

I like it, I think it's funny.

When you're a young girl just starting out, as it were, everything can be terrifyingly solemn and serious. Stony-faced conversations with the mother, diagrams, toxic shock syndrome warnings...

It's nice to have a bit of humour about it.

CarMe

Oh god, the toxic shock syndrome worry!!
Ah I think its great and in fairness what other option have we got other than "getting over it" when it comes to cramps!

Ice Storm

I kinda liked it but thought that the girls all look so young! Like too young to have to deal with periods.

Maybe I'm just getting old and forget what it was like at that age.

Morag

1st period these days is between 9 and 13.

Meangadh

Yeah a few of my friends got their periods when they were 10, so those girls in the ad are about the right age.

I just like how it takes the mystery out of periods for younger girls, and it's being told to them by people their own age rather than some "Mother Nature" (not pointing at any company in particular...).

What do ye think of the product? It seems so expensive - who would spend more than €10 on pads/tampons per month? I know you get sweets too, but come on...

Ice Storm

Yeah, I guess the age is right, it was just a bit shocking because it hit home how young I really was back then even though I felt grown up!

I like the direct language, it made me smile.

Meangadh

LostOutForeign wrote: »

What do ye think of the product? It seems so expensive - who would spend more than €10 on pads/tampons per month? I know you get sweets too, but come on...

Yeah it's definitely too expensive. €5 or €6 or so would probably cover it for most people, obviously depending on how much you need for your particular period, could be more or less for others- but €10 is a lot.

I certainly wouldn't be bothered with it anyway- but then teenage girls are much easier to convince than cynical ole me!

Ice Storm

Just had a look at the website - it costs between $14 - $18 per month with unspecified treats. For that money, they'd want to throw in a few painkillers as well! Mooncup ftw.

Rosy Posy

+1 on the Mooncup! The awesomest thing about it afaic is that you can put it in when you're expecting your period- no getting caught out. I forgot mine when I went on holidays and was reminded of the discomfort, inconvenience and expense of tampons. I like their marketing too!

Yeah mooncups are better

Morag

The thing is I wouldn't suggest that anyone under the age of 16 try and use a moon cup.
The bodies of young teens are still growing and we've only recently had the advent of ultra small tampons in this country. I'd hate to think of a 10 year old struggling to use a mooncup.

Das Kitty

Yeah, I agree. It definitely requires a fully mature body.

Who knows though, in the next few years there may be a reusable product that younger girls can use.

I remember my first tampon experience, one of my Mam's big lil-lets. Ouch.

ash23

My ten year old and I were chatting about periods and I was explaining tampons to her. The look of horror on her face was priceless! She was aghast at the idea.

So it'll be towels to start with anyway. She's not got her first period yet but she's far more informed than I was at her age. I remember a lady from Always coming to our school. In 2nd year. Eh, a bit late love!

I like the ad but I can't bear the thought of my daughter using the term "vag".

Morag

Das Kitty wrote: »

Yeah, I agree. It definitely requires a fully mature body.

Who knows though, in the next few years there may be a reusable product that younger girls can use.

I remember my first tampon experience, one of my Mam's big lil-lets. Ouch.

We've been looking at these, http://lunapads.com/ my teen is very interested in trying them.
So we've been looking for someone in the EU which makes the equivalent.

Pang

Morag wrote: »

We've been looking at these, http://lunapads.com/ my teen is very interested in trying them.
So we've been looking for someone in the EU which makes the equivalent.

What a great website! I must say I am very tempted. The bright colours and crazy designs are very appealing.

You can order them it seems from a number of UK websites. Earth Wise Girls is one that popped up.

iguana

Rosy Posy wrote: »

I like their marketing too!

I'm not a big fan of the camp gyno ad but that's fantastic. (And yes I agree, Mooncups are not a great idea for kids/younger teens.)

Rosy Posy

iguana wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of the camp gyno ad but that's fantastic. (And yes I agree, Mooncups are not a great idea for kids/younger teens.)

Just wondering why not? Because of the size? They sit lower than a tampon and you'd imagine younger girls would have better pelvic floor strength? I suppose they are a little tricky to insert and remove at first but really they're much neater than pads, for the squeamish. Although I do have a pretty horrible mooncup story that I will spoiler for the faint of heart.

I was in a super fancy hotel in Bangkok, the kind where someone goes into the bathroom after each person used it and cleans it. So I took out my mooncup but didn't want to rinse it in the sink with the girl outside the door so they had those spray gun things on the toilet for you to wash your arse so I thought I'd just use that. So I spray it into the cup (why TF did I not empty it first- I was jet lagged and had a bad case of period brain, also it was my first bleed since I'd stopped breast feeding so I was out of practice) and the jet was incredibly strong- it sprayed bloody water all over me and the whole cubicle- it was like the shower scene in psycho- I had blood in my eyelashes. I was morto and I couldn't leave the mess for the poor girl to clean so I spent the next 15mins frantically scrubbing the walls floor and toilet with toilet paper- I actually had to stand on the jacks to get the tops of the walls! Did my face as best I could before emerging with red splattered clothes. The girl must have been thinking wtf was I doing in there but to her credit she kept her eyes forward and handed me a towel. Won't forget that lesson in a while!

Rosy Posy

Rosy Posy wrote: »

Just wondering why not? Because of the size? They sit lower than a tampon and you'd imagine younger girls would have better pelvic floor strength? I suppose they are a little tricky to insert and remove at first but really they're much neater than pads, for the squeamish. Although I do have a pretty horrible mooncup story that I will spoiler for the faint of heart.

I was in a super fancy hotel in Bangkok, the kind where someone goes into the bathroom after each person used it and cleans it. So I took out my mooncup but didn't want to rinse it in the sink with the girl outside the door so they had those spray gun things on the toilet for you to wash your arse so I thought I'd just use that. So I spray it into the cup (why TF did I not empty it first- I was jet lagged and had a bad case of period brain, also it was my first bleed since I'd stopped breast feeding so I was out of practice) and the jet was incredibly strong- it sprayed bloody water all over me and the whole cubicle- it was like the shower scene in psycho- I had blood in my eyelashes. I was morto and I couldn't leave the mess for the poor girl to clean so I spent the next 15mins frantically scrubbing the walls floor and toilet with toilet paper- I actually had to stand on the jacks to get the tops of the walls! Did my face as best I could before emerging with red splattered clothes. The girl must have been thinking wtf was I doing in there but to her credit she kept her eyes forward and handed me a towel. Won't forget that lesson in a while!

I should feel nothing but pity, but that is just the funniest gruesome story ever!

I yanked out a tampon a bit over-enthusiastically and it sprayed a sploshy arc of blood over my newly painted white bathroom wall, just 10 minutes before dinner guests were due to arrive. I tried washing it off but I just smeared it badly and made it worse . Nobody mentioned it, even though it looked like a crime scene from CSI .

Rosy Posy

Candie wrote: »

I should feel nothing but pity, but that is just the funniest gruesome story ever!

I yanked out a tampon a bit over-enthusiastically and it sprayed a sploshy arc of blood over my newly painted white bathroom wall, just 10 minutes before dinner guests were due to arrive. I tried washing it off but I just smeared it badly and made it worse . Nobody mentioned it, even though it looked like a crime scene from CSI .

This happened to my friend while she was getting a bikini wax!! Sorry for derailing the thread!!