Humour and Hyperbole Break Taboos in Bodyform’s Latest Ad

‘Never Just A Period’, the latest campaign for Bodyform ( Essity ) by AMV BBDO challenges the many misunderstandings, misgivings and miseducation surrounding women’s menstrual health.

The ad cleverly uses humour and hyperbole to break down barriers and challenge preconceptions about what it’s actually like to experience a period, a subject that for too long has remained taboo.

Lauren Peters and Augustine Cerf are the creative team behind the campaign at AMV BBDO.

“We were musing on how hideously misinformed we are about our own bodies and reflecting on the gap between what we’re told and what we experience,” Peters told The Drum .  “Because we’re told that these things aren’t important or that they don’t exist, we’re constantly gaslit. So, it’s like, we’re here to tell you that they are big and they are real and they do matter. And we should talk about them.”

From the melodramatic orchestral opening music, to the funny little uterus character, to the hilarious oversized props, to the renaissance-style paintings adding a nod to this being an age-old issue that needs confronting, there's a lot to love about this ad.

Viewers are taken on a heady journey through a range of period-related experiences from first period to missed periods to period pain, and everything in between, in all of their gritty reality.

The music builds and falls, creating a sense of unease, tension and anticipation, cleverly punctuated with amusing sound effects and shrieks and a killer on-screen script, until an apathetic male doctor finally announces ‘It’s just a period’.

Urgh.

Cue exasperation, rolling of Renaissance eyes and the need to set the record straight, once and for all.

All of the scenarios depicted are relatable and delivered with extreme candour, yet softened with humour and empathy.

The result?

Insightful. Emotive. Meaningful. Memorable.

We can’t wait to see how Bodyform builds out this campaign in the future.

- Joanna Round (DCH NBH Reg)