Advertising Periods the Right Way

Period product advertisements have evolved with changing times. From being called ‘that time of the month’ to officially being called a ‘period’ in a 1985 TV commercial in the USA, these advertisements targeting menstruators have come a long way. In India, it was only in the 1990s that period product manufacturing companies started airing advertisements on television.

It would not be wrong to say that these advertisements are a reflection of the perceptions held by society with regard to periods and menstruation, often capitalizing on the emotions and needs of menstruators to maximize product sales.

In a way, media and advertisements about period products also create room for positive discourse about periods; breaking myths and normalizing menstruation. Since they are such powerful tools, if utilized correctly, they can break societal stigmas around menstruation.

1. Not all women menstruate and not all menstruators are women. A wake-up call that needs to be amplified as much as possible so that more period product manufacturing companies move towards inclusive period product advertisements, which in turn will educate the people about how menstruation is not restricted to a gender binary.
2. Keeping it as real as possible in period advertisements is another requirement in the journey towards responsible, educative period advertising. Menstruation should be made as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Thus, emphasis is required on how these products will help menstruators go about their daily routine easily rather than showcasing how, after using the products, the menstruators gain the super human ability to do impossible tasks all while bleeding.
3. Blood is red. Though several companies have started embracing red ink to demonstrate the degree of absorption their period products possess, the infamous blue ink still finds its way into certain ads. The blue ink has to go, and it has to go now.
4. Involving non-menstruators in advertisements to actively engage everyone in normalizing periods rather than just the people who use period products. This will eventually bring some degree of change in the paucity of information available to non-menstruators to educate themselves and support their friends and family members who menstruate. Ultimately, the goal is to move away from flinching on hearing the word ‘period’ to making everybody comfortable in the discourse.

Perceptions can be changed with effective period advertisements. It is not just necessary but is the need of the hour.

~L. Srimathi