Tampax gives men periods for an ad campaign

What would happen if men needed sanitary protection? A Tampax campaign poses exactly that question through showing a 16 year old boy who discovers one day that he has started his period.

The brand has created Zack 16, an online campaign (blog, film, Twitter) involving a boy who suddently gets female genitals….the story then follows his struggle to cope with it. (Incidentally, he copes better than you would imagine any man waking up with girl bits would manage in real life.) He gets moody, eats junk food and finds himself living out the stereotype actions of a menstrual woman.  He also uses a Tampax machine (bringing in the brand and all that).

The whole campaign has a nice humorous tone to it and “Zack” encourages others to write in with their own experiences of menstruation. The branding is done in a fairly low key way and it’s a much more original idea than most campaigns in this area.

Sanitary products have always traditionally advertised themselves by showing women in ecstasy at living their lives as normal despite having their period. It used to be that whether women were rollerskating, dancing or just being out and about, a period was portrayed as a mild inconvenience that could be overcome by using the product on offer. So this makes a nice change.

The Mediaguardian, which tipped me off about this campaign, asks:  just who is it intended to appeal to? Men aren’t generally born with female organs so it can’t really be suggesting that more men go about buying tampons. Or can it?

I think not. I guess that means it is probably targeting young women, trying to make them smile at the idea of a bloke coping with their monthly issues. It aims to encourage teens to interact with a site fronted by a cute 16 year old boy in a lighthearted way that fits with how they talk to friends about periods.

So, a good job? Check out the Zack 16 site here and video below and see what you think.