Have you seen the new Bodyform advert?

Yes, all of that. Bloody well done, pun intended.

And if the misogynistic crap starts - inclusion is about addition, not replacement, and not everything has to be about everyone. You don't erase the 99% of reality to make it all about the 1% unless you're part of the problem women have of not being allowed to talk about their periods or the biological realities of being female. The experience of female people isn't a dirty secret or naughty to talk about.

Good, as long as they say they are for women I’ll chuck em in the shopping. Always might want to have a think on reading the responses here.

They asked women to share stories about their wombs and then made the ad.

I am hard as nails and hugely cynical about stuff like this usually. I cried.

Bloody well done Bodyform (no pun intended).

I thought that was awful.....it was like ‘women’s issues by numbers’.

Don't care.

At a time when agreeing with the idea that women's issues exist can get you sacked, it is a relief that they aren't carefully pretending that nobody knows who gets periods.

Excellent advert, very moving in every way!

'Their only desire - and their brief to the creative agency - will be to increase sales.'

Well yes of course. Which is why we were all so surprised that The Body Shop didn't seem to know this.

Exactly.

It's quite extraordinary that companies who specifically make products, either exclusively, or largely, for women, are telling women to shut the fuck up because a handful of men want them to.

How many times have we pointed out how unutterably stupid it is, a la Gerald Ratner? Stupid and misogynistic. As though women have so little power they have no choice but to be treated like dirt.

Maybe, just maybe, certain companies don't actually have a clue quite how exponentially they could increase their sales, if they genuinely appealed to women.

It's great to see an advert that acknowledges all the things that can happen throughout a woman's life and that periods and everything that goes with it isn't sorted by wearing an artificially scented pad.

Also I just looked up the credits and the ad was created by a man!

Wow that is brilliant. Made me sad for being menopausal! So powerful.

@HoneysuckIejasmine

They could have just made them 10p cheaper than their competitors and improved sales that way. But they've taken time to actually think about it

No they couldn’t, that’s the point. Discounting for sales in fmcg is done routinely and they’re already cheaper than the brand leader. Currently the buzz is around driving brand connection via emotion - so they’ve had a think about what will appeal to a certain audience and made an ad about it. It won’t help anyone as it won’t be broadcast on TV, only people like us will see it

It just makes a change to see an advert for women, focusing on actual women and their biology, which takes up a huge amount of time in a woman's life.

Instead of how to make your legs smoother, body thinner, eyelashes thicker, carpet cleaner, and food tastier.

I’m delighted with this. It’s entirely as it should be- women’s reproductive issues should be talked about and acknowledged.

Breaking down taboos starts with the understanding that something is normal. If we can teach girls and boys (and men!) that periods are a normal bodily function then we are on the road to breaking down those taboos.

I think this video is far more effective at normalising periods than that awful recent advert from tampax.

Wow that’s powerful. Love it or hate it there’s no denying it’s powerful.

I have suffered from that - as a teen I used to take tablets and had endemetriosis investigations. Doesn’t mean I enjoy it when a global company uses that experience to try and ‘connect’ with people to sell product

I love it. I dare say the trans brigade will be all over it because you know it's not just women that have periods. Apparently.

I completely agree that it's a cynical marketing ploy and I'm not going to start buying their products just because of this advert. I also think we should all be prepared for the inevitable TRA pile-on and apology about "we don't mean to say all women have wombs or only those who have wombs are women. Trans women are women"

But - even so. It's so rare to see such an honest portrayal of female reproductive experiences on TV that I do appreciate that they made this. As PP have mentioned though - it's probably an ad that will play much better with women 30+ as we'll be able to relate much more.

No wonder some male bodied people are envious of women’s periods and certain male bodied people with perversions, actually steal used period products. (Before anyone whinges to MNHQ, I’m talking about those with perversions, not genuine trans people) Watching the traditional adverts for period products, would make anyone think periods were a walk in the park.

Finally a woman centric advert for a women's product - Take note Always

I’m still always going to be more than happy to buy products from brands that don’t deny my lived experience or seek to erase my biological reality. And I will continue to boycott those brands and corporations that have out and out declared their contempt for women and children and our/their safety and protections.

By running an ad that is based on the reality of biological sex, they are supporting women in a hugely important way, given the current climate. Anything else they do is over and above, and I hope there is more being done in a range of ways. But in and of itself this is a very important statement.

Random I wouldn't say it makes me feel better. (In fact, I didn't). I think it's great that a company who's product is specifically made for women are actually making adverts that show they do have an understanding of what women actually experience. Yes, they want to make money, of course they do. But sanitary products are an essential so people who use disposable products will buy them anyway. They could have just made them 10p cheaper than their competitors and improved sales that way. But they've taken time to actually think about it.