Women lose about 2-3 tablespoons of blood each month when they menstruate. But generally speaking, blood is part of menstruation. Blood is a shared experience amongst women. 

But until recently, blood was invisible in menstrual product ads. 

In its place was the infamous blue liquid, first unleashed on audiences in ads in the late 90s by brands like Always. It would be decades until an actual menstrual product ad featured red liquid, and in 2020, we’d find out how far advertisers were willing or able to go to show blood in their ads. 

In 2023, menstrual product brands are going head-to-head with media companies continuing to gatekeep the messages women receive in their ads. These powerful companies often consider menstrual blood on par with other bodily fluids deeming these visuals inappropriate, gratuitous, or graphic. 

What happens when ads show blood? 

While the blue liquid persisted into the early aughts, advertisers for the UK brand Bodyform showed red liquid to demonstrate a menstrual pad’s absorptive capacities for the first time in 2017. Fortunately, the U.S. was not far behind. 

Cora, a smaller startup brand from the U.S., started showing red liquid in their ads in 2018. After complaints rolled in, Instagram and Facebook removed the ads from their platforms, though after Cora reached out to the social media giants, the ads became visible again.  

Kotex became the first large brand to show red liquid in their menstrual product ads two years later, prompting many thank yous, and it’s about times on social media.  

Even as recent as 2020, period underwear brand Thinx received rejections from 10 media networks because it dared include red liquid in an ad, violating a policy requiring only clear/blue liquid. NBCUniversal’s (one of the few media companies that responded to a request for comment from the journalist) rationale for censoring the ad included a line from their ad policy that personal care products “should be presented in a tasteful manner and will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.” The implication that menstrual blood isn’t tasteful is why these brands continue advocating for women. 

That same year, Facebook initially banned an ad by Australian company Modibodi that depicted menstrual blood in real-world contexts, claiming it violated their advertising policies due to “sensational” content. You can check out the ad and decide whether it meets that criteria. 

According to the dictionary, sensational means: (of an account or a publication) presenting information in a way that is intended to provoke public interest and excitement at the expense of accuracy.

What about bleeding is inaccurate? How many women reading this have bled on their sheets overnight or seen the garbage bin (at home or in public) filled with used menstrual products? Towards the end of the ad, we see a woman wringing blood and water out of her period underwear in the shower. With the rise of alternative menstrual products, how relatable is that experience becoming for women?  

We’d rather have accurate portrayals because the alternative has terrible side effects. Inaccurate portrayals reinforce the problematic messaging from the last century’s ads. Messages like: 

• Periods are dirty. 

• Periods are shameful.

• Women should be embarrassed of their bodily functions. 

• You must always present a happy face, even if your cramps are debilitating and your mood is bottomed out. 

Though Facebook later took back the ban, Modibodi’s founder’s initial reaction articulates what so many women feel when very real aspects of their lives are silenced, watered down, or distorted through ads: 

“[It’s] disappointing Facebook doesn’t want to normalize the conversation around menstruation.”

How comfortable are women with blood in ads? 

As an advertiser in 2023, you have a choice when creating your ads. If you lean into realistic portrayals of menstruation, there will likely be people who report your ads on social media. But they are in the minority. 

Our research into taboo products and services asked women to weigh in on menstruation-related imagery they might encounter in ads: 

• blood in a swimming pool

• blood on a tampon

• blood on a menstrual pad

• blood on a sofa cushion

• blood on a woman’s pants or skirt

• blood on a bedsheet

Only about 1 in 4 to 1 in 3 women felt any of the above would be inappropriate to be shown during an advertisement. That means if you take one of these visuals—blood on a bedsheet, for example—75% of women who find at least one other image inappropriate would NOT consider this inappropriate. 

However, Brand Approvers are significantly more likely than Boundary Pushers to consider the above inappropriate. Female Favorers are with the Brand Approvers. 

Each segment rates each suggested imagery the same throughout, suggesting the context doesn’t matter; the blood is the important factor. It doesn’t matter that it’s on a pad or couch cushion. What matters is that periods involve blood, and most women want to see that in ads. 

For those who find the imagery inappropriate, we have to consider whether the decades of menstrual product messaging have played a role. How much is the internalized shame causing women to balk at these images? Brands can play a powerful role in reducing shame and embarrassment. 

But it requires a deft touch. In the Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstrual Studies, contributor Maureen C. McHughes introduces the concept of “menstrual moaning,” whereby women connect by discussing the negative aspects of menstruation. 

She explains: 

“Menstrual moaning may be viewed as women’s resistance to the secrecy, taboos, and concealment imperatives. In this sense, talking about one’s menstrual experiences may be viewed as a form of activism, a breaking of the menstrual taboo, and/or a form of resistance to the patriarchal norm. But, like fat talk, engaging in menstrual moaning may have a deleterious impact on women’s menstrual attitudes. Engaging in menstrual moaning reiterates negative cultural construction of women’s bodies as flawed, deficient, and diseased.” 

So, advertisers need to find a balance. You need to be realistic about the blood, cramps, period poops, and mood swings menstruation can involve, but help women feel seen and heard, don’t direct them down the slippery slope to shame. 

It’s time to get real(istic).

So, how do advertisers find that delicate and oh-so-vital balance? 

Create ads that reflect women’s experiences with menstruation. Sometimes, there are leaks through clothing, onto toilet seats, and onto your driver’s seat during a commute. Periods can be extremely painful for some women. Some have heavy bleeding, and others light. Some women are relieved to get their period every month. 

Paint a realistic picture. Think of it like the difference between venting and sharing. Venting can pull the venter into a spiral of negative emotions. Sharing can keep the sharer present in their experience. Aim for the latter. 

Reflect women’s true concerns and needs during their periods: comfort, duration of use, product materials, ease of use, ability to use in different contexts, affordability, etc. 

Show how you meet these needs in accurate ways. Don’t be afraid to show a little (or a lot of) blood. 

If you want help navigating this balance, let us know! We have a team of women ready to discuss menstruation, menstrual products, and creative about both at hello@fancynyc.com. Download our executive summary to hear more women’s perspectives on taboos like this.