Menstrual Blood ad did not Breach Standards
Libra TV ad depicting menstrual blood did not breach standards, watchdog rules
There are a number of articles this week covering the complaints about a TV commercial for sanitary products which depicts menstrual blood for the first time on Australian television. The advert shows a woman’s legs in the shower with water and blood running down them
The Australian campaign for Libra pads comes two years after its sister brand Bodyform released the UK’s first advert to depict menstrual blood with the tagline “Periods are normal. Showing them should be too”, alongside the hashtag #bloodnormal
Complaints ranged from bad taste to inappropriate to vilification and humiliation of women by publicising a private matter, to concern for children being too young to see blood running down a woman’s leg in the shower. But the board found the ad did not breach any standards in its code of ethics
This story highlights that whilst we’re becoming more comfortable talking about periods, it’s still a massive taboo and there’s work to be done to change people’s perception
You can read the full story in the Guardian, Daily Mail and BBC
