The period. It’s the monthly reminder of how as women, we are all connected. It punctuates our lives with bloating, back cramps and chocolate cravings. For years, maxi pad advertising has tried to connect by showing women dancing through fields of flowers in white pants or the tired blue dye absorption ratio demonstrations. In fact, up until a few years ago, a pad with wings was the only innovation in this industry.
But this Kotex campaign broke the cycle and was revolutionary because of its honesty. It acknowledges and apologizes for how lame maxi pad advertising has been. Kotex laughs at itself and therefore brings us in on the joke. As women, we must laugh in the face “Aunt Flo”, so PMS doesn’t get the best of us. The U by Kotex website continues with the “Get Real” campaign and invites women to engage and share with the company and their friends. They can create their own period video spoofs, and even design their own maxi pad. I love that the visual when this fun feature is loading is a white pad filling with blue liquid–that is spot on! I hope other companies can learn from Kotex when it comes to Marketing to Women and break the cycle of bad advertising…even if for a moment it feels unsettling like a hormonal rollercoaster ride. How do you really feel about feminine product advertising? Do you think they are really connecting with the ladies? Want to see more, check out the first post in my series 20 examples of Marketing to Women that Connects.
