It’s one thing for a campaign to be socially relevant but another to be a cinematic brilliance while doing so. Bodyform/Libresse, UK-based health and hygiene companies, have pulled this off time and again.
"We aren’t born ashamed of our bodies. We learn to be."
The brand became the first UK brand to show ‘red’ blood on a sanitary pad in 2017, and true to its mission, it continues churning out real portrayals of real women, experiencing all the pain and joy of their reproductive systems.
Over the years, their campaigns, created in collaboration with AMV BBDO, have scooped the world’s most prestigious advertising awards.
#PeriodSomnia, released in 2022, was awarded with a Gold Lion in the Health and Wellness category and a Silver Lion in the Film Direction category.
A year before that, #WombStories garnered the prestigious ‘Black Pencil’ for Art Direction at D&AD awards. Both of them painted the ugliness and discomfort of menstruation using left-field animations and illustrations, and their latest one, ‘Never Just a Period’ is no exception.
According to Tanja Grubner, Marketing and Communications Director at Essity—parent company of the brands Bodyfrom/Libresse—the vision for the campaign was born from their commitment to closing the knowledge gap and a strong desire to open the conversation around women’s reproductive health. To execute this vision with authenticity, the creative team went as far as listening to stories from women on set and their experiences with periods.
The advert begins with an orchestral crescendo, intercutting with montages of women, confused and misinformed, overwhelmed with choices, and frustrated with the unpredictability of their period. All of this tension is culminated in a male doctor, trying to trivialise it, with an ignorant—‘It’s just a period’—An experience that many women, unfortunately, relate to.
A few visuals that remain etched in our minds are that of a woman getting her period while breast-feeding her child, children sparking their curiosity about periods and painting sanitary pads, and a middle-aged woman going through menopause being comforted by her daughter.
Despite a section of the audiences condemning the Bodyform/Libresse campaigns for its ‘graphic’ visuals, the brand, unperturbed by it, keeps shooting for a universal appeal—the inclusion of an orchestra, over-the top visuals and paintings of historical women, sighing and exasperated, is a testament to that.
“It’s been like 300,000 years of human existence, but girls still have no idea what’s going on,” said Augustine Cerf, Creative at AMV BBDO in an interview with AdAge. The campaign, therefore, represents a collective—a rather disappointed and baffled one—that wants to be seen and understood.
And a captivating ad-film that unfolds itself like a visual poetry is just the answer we have been looking for.
When we posted this ad on our Instagram handle, women from across the world, rejoiced in solidarity and shared their period stories in our comment section.
Here is a snippet of those reactions:
This is absolutely brilliant. Well done for taking away the shame and stigma. It’s time that those who menstruate are given the education, support, compassion and understanding to navigate this very normal and ever-changing part of our lives.
As a school teacher, I wish all my students (Boys and Girls) could watch that. It is a lesson disguised as an ad.
I LOVE THIS!!! I got my period at camp and they tried to give me a tampon so I could swim. I was 11 years old. I thought I was hurt.
I was very lucky that I had an educated mother who gave me the facts and listened to my questions and concerns. After the birth of my son, I never used a male Obstetrician/Gynecologist. I'm also a retired RN. I recommend that my friends use female doctors or nurse practitioners. I prefer NP's. This should also be included in our children's health education in schools for both girls and boys.
As a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, let me just say, this is AMAZING! Thank you!
My whole period life in minutes. The solidarity alone makes me want to cry. It wasn’t just me, it was all of us.
Country: UK
Year: 2024
Brand: Libresse / Bodyform
Team: Tanja Grubner & Luciana de Azevedo Lara
Agency: AMV BBDO
CCO/CD: Nicholas Hulley, Nadja Lossgott
Producer: Rebecca Sharf
Creative Team: Lauren Peters, Augustine Cerf
Creative Design Director: Vanessa Fowler Kendall
Designer: Dian Sofia
Junior Producer: Lilli Burridge Payne
Account Team: Henrietta Corley, Semran Kooner, Louise Mather
Planning Team: Margaux Revol, Summer Taylor
Production Company: SMUGGLER
Director: Lucy Forbes
EP: Lucy Kelly
Producer: Claire Jones
DOP: Polly Morgan
Production Manager: Ellie Sanders Wright
Photographer: Aleksandra Martinovic
Casting: Ali Fearnley
Editorial: Tenthree
Producers: Ed Hoadley & Rachel Googder
Editors: Ellie Johnson, Elena De Palma, Liam Bachler
Asst. Editor: Ella Oliver
Colour: Cheat
Colourist: Toby Tomkins
VFX: Framestore
CD: Sharon Lock
Producer: Sara Beckman
Producer Asst.: Jamie Scott
Producer Coordinator: Rachel Knight
VFX Supervisor: Murray Butler
FX: Philip Child
2D Animation: Jocie Juritz
Flame Lead: Andy Salter
Flame: Paul O’Brien, Vinny David
Nuke Artists: Aitor Echeveste, Hakon Loberg
Design: Sharon Lock, Craig Maxwell, Charlie Keeper, Jack Field, Daniella Marsh
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