A TV ad for Bodyform has been revealed as the most complained about ad of 2022 by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The commercial – that promotes the brand’s ‘Goodnight’ towels – was dubbed as being “too graphic”, “unnecessary” and “degrading and demeaning to women” by up to 798 complainants.
The two-minute ‘Periodsomnia’ film includes images from inside the female reproductive system as a period begins. Images of bloody sheets and the pain experienced during menstruation are also displayed as the brand invites viewers to ‘join our quest for sleep’.
Bodyform intended to not only tackle taboos but to also highlight the disruption periods can bring to the sleep of those who menstruate.
Despite the number of complaints received, the advertising watchdog ultimately ruled that no Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) codes had been broken, therefore deciding that the ad should not been banned from airing.
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“Having carefully assessed the complaints, we did not consider the rules had been broken and there were no grounds for further investigation,” the ad authority said.
“We considered that the imagery was generally unlikely to be seen as inappropriate given the product being advertised, and as the ad was not explicit or overly graphic and did not talk about menstruation in negative terms, it was unlikely to be seen as demeaning or degrading to women or be likely to cause harm to children.”
The news comes almost a month after a Tampax tweet went viral on Twitter after causing widespread offence to many users on the platform.
The sanitary product brand wrote: “You’re in their DMs. We’re in them. We are not the same.”
Many Twitter users reacted to the tweet negatively, calling the marketing activation ‘misogynistic’ for ‘sexualising’ the use of tampon products.
2 Comments. Leave new
What a terrible Body form advert. Totally gross! I bet it was created by a man!
I feel that adverts like this are not acceptable in this day and age they are far too graphic, we have managed this long without them and the sooner they are stopped the better in my opinion. They are very embrassing to watch if my children are present.