‘Safer than a Tampon’ is a messaging masterclass

Besides being on point for International Women’s Day, organic period care brand TOTM’s ‘Safer than a Tampon’ campaign is just great advertising.

A phrase that comes up all too often in the weekly Creative Moment meeting is “I like it, but I’m not sure I get it”. Overthinking a product delivery can be as dangerous as underthinking it, we reckon. TOTM’s partnership with London agency Joan, ‘Safer than a Tampon’, has no such ambiguity.

The hard-hitting campaign uses vivid colours, peppy cut shots, good copywriting and a well-voiced narration to expose the UK’s regulatory blind spots for tampons.

The hero film, directed by an in-house Joan team, juxtaposes stringent rules for everyday items like candles, car air fresheners, and balloons against the minimal oversight for tampons, which require no mandatory ingredient disclosure or pesticide testing.

Besides the stark visuals and wry narration, the ad’s call to action - urging consumers to demand transparency in feminine hygiene - not only packs a punch, but portrays the brand in a positive light due to its uniform insistence that all tampon brands adhere to the same standards it is setting.

Suffice to say, timed close to International Women’s Day, the campaign also strikes a cultural chord in the ongoing feminist reckoning with women’s health, amplified by movements like the period poverty campaigns, and a recent, far more off-kilter creative effort from Uncommon. 

In a post-pandemic world hyper-focused on safety and ingredients, the ad is refreshingly clear of ‘hysteria’, instead opting to make the personal political.

So, kudos to TOTM for delivering a wake-up call that’s clear, succinctly delivered, memorable, and could spark real policy change in an industry that for a long time dared not speak its name.