#wombstories, #Bloodnormal and Viva La Vulva have a sibling. #Periodsomnia reveals the struggle that periods cause with sleep. The new global campaign by AMV BBDO for Essity’s Bodyform/Libresse/Saba responds to research which that suggests women+ lose 5 months of sleep over their lifetime due to the discomfort, anxiety and fear of nights on their period and continues the brand’s work to mythbust the simplistic story in culture about what it means to be a woman. The campaign coincides with the launch of the brand’s new Goodnight Towels.

The survey, gathered from over 10,000 women+ across 11 markets also revealed that 62% have poorer sleep on their periods; 33% struggle to sleep because of the anxiety around their sanitary product leaking and staining their bed sheets and pyjamas, evidence of the entrenched stigma that still exists around period blood; 62% don’t enjoy staying over at others’ homes or going on holiday during their period and a fifth (18%) would rather miss out on a date than face someone seeing a stain on their pyjamas or bed sheets.

Bodyform goes beyond the clichés to show the bleeding, the dreaming, the bloating, the tossing, turning, tiptoeing, the farting and the struggle to sleep soundly. Again, it finds distinctive and novel ways to represent period blood. This time, medusa-like blood detaches from the uterus and flows through the body. The hero film, directed by Kim Gehrig, mixes live action, animation and thermal imagery to illustrate the fact that periods never sleep and is underscored by the upbeat techno track, Deep Inside, by Hardrive. It is the second collaboration between Bodyform, AMV BBDO and Kim Gehrig, who also directed Viva La Vulva in 2018.

The brand has coined a new term, periodsomnia, to put a name to the experience that millions go through at night and hopes to reassure women that they are not alone.

Tanja Grubner, FemCare global marketing and communications director at Essity, commented, “For years, society, brands and advertising have presented images of peaceful, restorative sleep, even for those who are menstruating. The reality shown through #Periodsomnia is that it can be more chaotic for some women+. It’s time to stop treating women+ like broken pipes which leak. They just have periods. By revealing these universal truths, we tackle the invisibility around the realities of nights spent menstruating to reassure women+ that what they go through is completely normal and that they’re not alone in their experiences.”

AMV BBDO creatives, Anzhela Hayrabedyan and Luca Grosso, stated, “We all want to be told a different bedtime story, but this is the reality of the night. Around the world millions on their period are raving through the darkness alone and unheard. We wanted to switch the disco lights on and reveal that they are in this club together. It had to be 100% real, but also 100% surreal.”

Kim Gehrig added, “As a teenager I would be awake for endless hours on nights that I had my period. I would ask my mother to go to the late-night pharmacy at 3am to get me painkillers. Even though they were a little helpful, those nights were always uncomfortable, lonely and truly exhausting.  Yet, in the morning I was expected to go to school and perform like any other day. When I started this project with Libresse, it struck me that I have never discussed these nights with anyone, ever. What it is like to have your period at night? I can only assume that others probably have not either. I am hoping this film is the beginning of a conversation and understanding of what one experiences at night, every month, when they menstruate. And how truly incredible it is that we then take on the next day just like any other.”

Credits:

Client: Essity (Libresse / Bodyform / Saba)
Global Marketing & Communications Director, Femcare: Tanja Grubner
FemCare Communications Manager: Luciana De Azevedo Lara

Agency: AMV BBDO
Chief Creative Officers: Nadja Lossgott & Nicholas Hulley
Copywriter & Art Director: Anzhela Hayrabedyan & Luca Grosso
Designers: Simon Dilks & Max Henderson
Planners: Suzanne Barker, Margaux Revol & Bea Farmelo
Account Management: Sarah Hore-Lacy, Helen Limbrey & Katie Gorrod
Project Management: Daniela Loccisano
TV Producer: Edwina Dennison

Social Edits: Maia Lloyd
Business Affairs: Michelle Holmes

Production Company: Somesuch
Director: Kim Gehrig
Producer: Lee Groombridge
Executive Producer: Chris Watling & Seth Wilson
DOP: Chayse Irvin
Casting: Leanne Flinn
Production Design: Marie Lanna
Costume Designer: Hannah Edwards

Editing: Trim Editing
Editor: Thomas Grove Carter
Edit Assistant: Jacques Simon
Edit Producer: Noreen Khan

Post-production Company: Time Based Arts
VFX Supervisors: Stephen Grasso & Mike Battcock
Creative Director: Mike Skrgatic
Colourist: Simone Grattarola
2D team: Bernardo Varela, Matt Shires, Sarah Breakwell, Will Robinson, Jamie Crofts, Ria Shroff, Grant White, Ralph Briscoe, Eleonora Laddago, Viola Bascombe
3D team: Ihor Obukhovskyi, Guillaume Heussler, Federico Vanone, Teodora Retegan, Chris Wood, Walter How, Tim Phillips, Nick Smalley
Post Producer: Sian Jenkins

Sound Studio: 750mph
Sound Engineers: Sam Ashwell & Giselle Hall
Audio Producer: Olivia Ray
Music: Soundtree Music
Music Supervisor: Peter Raeburn
Additional Music Production: Peter Raeburn & Luke Fabia
Soundtree Managing Director: Jay James
Additional Vocals: Megan Wyler, Vula Malinga, Victoria Beaumont

PR Agency: Ketchum
Media Agency: Zenith