Kotex

Since it debuted in 2011, the U by Kotex brand of pads and tampons (aimed at pre-teens) has made its mark with funny commercials and frank talk about periods. But recently, Kotex has decided to launch a part of their site that addresses period myths and the general lack of awareness many pre-teens have about their bodies. Their latest campaign, Generation Know, offers a site where girls can anonymously ask questions about periods and get answers from experts, peers, and moms. And holy cow, are these girls misguided.

I mean...there are no “wrong” questions when it comes to the complexities of the female body, and a lot of the questions are pretty basic (like “what happens during a pelvic exam?”). But some are a truly frightening demonstration of the absolute lack of information that young girls get when it comes to matters of their own health.

Here is a sampling of the more alarming questions from the site:

“Is it ok to wrap your tampon in toilet paper and then change the paper but not the tampon? Then the tampon lasts longer because it remains dry.”

“Once you are sexually active, do you need to go to the doctor so they can cut a piece of your vagina off?”

 “Do tampons cause cancer?”

OK, we are all pretty up on the concept of advertising at this point. Not to say that ads don't have an effect on us (they do), but when it comes to the reasoning behind most ad campaigns, we savvy media consumers are hip to what's going on. They're trying to sell us something. We get it. So what do we do with ads that let us "in" on the joke?

In my last post I discussed with Elizabeth Kissling the anti-advertising campaign produced by Kotex to promote their neon-bright range of tampons and pads. There has been a delay on these commercials airing due on the use of the word 'vagina' - with some networks asking that it be replaced with the term 'down there.' Meanwhile in the UK the makers of the Mooncup have sent out posters to be displayed on the London Underground proclaiming 'Love Your Vagina'.