Advertising for menstrual products has been showing women being unstoppable during their period for decades. It has created the myth that it’s easy. That you just soldier on regardless. The right product gives you freedom. Menstrual product advertising ignores the fact that periods are uncomfortable, really!! uncomfortable for some women.
MullenLowe NY and Midol want to bring that reality into period advertising. In their campaign, Comfort is Power, resilience isn’t about skateboarding, dancing, having a great time with friends or any other “periods are nothing” activity, it’s about looking after yourself, taking time out if you need to, and knowing that it’s wrong to force women to accept unrealistic strength goals and trivialise monthly pain. The campaign makes Midol a comfort, rather than a pain, product.
“We live in a society that has sadly normalised discomfort. A society that tells us pushing through pain makes us more powerful. One that suggests we don’t speak about the discomfort that menstruation brings every single month. Our aim with this new Midol work was to simply be truthful and for the work to be a reflection of all ethnicities, body types and gender expressions,” stated Rebekah Pagis, managing director at MullenLowe NY.
Comfort is Power is the first campaign by MullenLowe NY for Midol after it won the account last year. The campaign is running on TV in the US in 30- and 15-second versions, plus CTV and organic social supported by PR-led social experiment with real people, work with digital influencers and retail partnerships.
The new campaign follows up on No Apologies, which encouraged people to stop saying sorry about their periods.
“There are moments when the most powerful thing we can do is be vulnerable, to not care about anything or anybody else but yourself in the moments you need it,” stated Suzanne Barbosa, group account director at MullenLowe New York. ”That’s what this campaign is about: getting relief from menstrual symptoms makes us powerful, not weak. That’s the power of comfort.”
Credits:
Client: Midol
Agency: MullenLowe New York
Executive Creative Director: Ricard Valero
Creative Director: Adrien Bindi
Associate creative Director & Writer: Tara Nelson
Head of Design: Joao Paz
Designer: Isobel Connelly
Head of Strategy: Jonny Gadd
Group Strategy Director: Andrea Schulz
Managing Director: Rebekah Pagis
Group Account Director: Suzanne Barbosa
Account Director: Jennifer Cross
Account Executives: Caitlin Frazer & Amber Calhoune
Production Agency: Oliver
Executive Producer: Ali Watson
Production Company: Pulse Films
Director: Marco Gentile
President: Davud Karbassioun
Executive Producer: Nick Fuller
Head of Production: Clark Farrell
Producer: Sparky Pomeroy
DoP: Dustin Lane
Production Designer: Lucia Rodriguez
Stylist: Lucia Robles
Production Service Company: Oriental Films
Executive Producer: Diego Robino
Producer: Manolo Farachio
Editor: Marcello Saurino
Sound & Music: Guido Smider
Colourist: Daniel Pallucca
