Period pants ad that showed blood clots and used tampon is cleared by watchdog

A TV advert for period underwear has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after receiving nearly 300 complaints.

The advert was described as ‘offensive’ and ‘distressing’ by 295 complainants after it was aired in April.

It depicted Wuka period pants as well as images of blood and clots in a shower, a female wearing a sanitary pad in her underwear, and a used tampon being thrown into a bin.

A voiceover said: ‘Wuka loves periods. For the sneezy flows, the trickly flows, gushing, rushing, all kinds of flows. Ditch those pads and tampons.’

Wuka told the ASA it wanted to ‘represent periods positively’, and ad clearance agency Clearcast which cleared the campaign said depicting menstrual flow as blue, as has been done historically, would be inaccurate.

The brand said it received unprompted positive feedback about the ad, which highlighted the need for ‘real’ periods to be seen by men and women of all ages to enable society to become ‘period positive’.

Wuka said it stands by its decision to include the imagery and did not consider a stronger scheduling restriction was needed. The advert was restricted so it wouldn’t be shown in or around programmes made specifically for children.

Complainants said the images of blood used was ‘offensive’ and ‘likely to cause offence’, but the ASA has now concluded the advert didn’t breach its rules.

A spokesman said: ‘We recognised that blood featured in ads was often associated with injury, and that blood imagery in any context could be scary and unnerving.

‘Therefore, we acknowledged that some viewers had been distressed when viewing the ad.

‘However, we considered that whilst unconventional, in the context of a period product, the blood and blood clots were a realistic and accurate depiction of consumers’ menstruation experiences.

‘We acknowledged that the imagery, including the blood clots and the used tampon, would have been unfamiliar to very young children and, again, blood could have connotations of injury.

‘However, we understood that the average age menstruation began for most children was around the age of 12 years, but could be as young as eight.

‘Therefore, we considered it was likely that many children would be familiar with and understand that blood associated with menstruation was normal.

‘For those reasons, whilst we acknowledged that some viewers may have found blood, blood clots and a used tampon distasteful, and that some distress had been caused, we did not consider that the imagery was likely to cause serious or widespread offence, or excessive fear or distress.’

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