We won't take your ad, period

One of the ads for Thinx that appeared last week in the New York City subway system. (Courtesy of Thinx)

One of the ads for Thinx that appeared last week in the New York City subway system. (Courtesy of Thinx)

Published Nov 17, 2015

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Washington - The founders of Thinx set out to change women's lives by creating the perfect “period-proof” underwear.

But when it comes to advertising a menstrual product, sometimes things can get a little messy.

A socially minded underwear manufacturing company, Thinx launched in January 2014 with the goal of making menstrual leaks and stains a worry of the past. After three years of testing and research, it had developed a comfortable antimicrobial garment that it claims can absorb two tampons' worth of blood, protect against leaks and withstand washing and reuse - all while maintaining a sleek silhouette.

No more fumbling with tampons or waddling around with bulky pads? Sounds pretty swell. And sure enough, demand has been robust, the company says. This year, Thinx launched a website, appeared in national media outlets and attracted a swarm of new customers for a special sale on May 28 (aka Menstrual Hygiene Day, ladies - mark your calendars.)

Even afterward, the orders kept coming: “We basically sold out of five months' worth of stock in five weeks,” says company president Miki Agrawal. “That was a huge, huge breakout moment for us.”

Riding high on that momentum, the company set its sights on advertising in the New York subway system. And that's when it hit a wall.

The ad images are simple: a (presumably cramp-stricken) woman in black underwear and a white tank top slumped face-down over a stool. Another model in black briefs and a turtleneck sweater striking a relaxed pose, her hands clasped behind her back. There's a still-life photo of a peeled, halved grapefruit - a subtle stand-in for lady parts. There's another of a raw egg yolk - an ovum, of course. The tagline is five words long: “Underwear for women with periods.”

All seemingly quite tasteful. But Outfront Media, the company that approves most advertising content for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, had a different take. It told Thinx that the ads were too “suggestive” to display in the subway - where advertisements featuring bikini-clad women or bare-skinned models promoting breast implants are not an uncommon sight.

“Any ad that would appeal to the male gaze was okay, but because we were by women speaking to women about women, that wasn't okay,” says Veronica del Rosario, the company's director of marketing. “And when we brought that up, they said, 'This isn't a women's rights issue, don't make this a women's rights issue'. “

But the self-proclaimed feminists at Thinx weren't about to just go with the flow, so to speak, so they went ahead and made it a women's rights issue anyway. They shared the story with several media outlets, and an outcry ensued - after which, the ads were ultimately approved. They went up in the New York subway last week. Agrawal promptly posted an Instagram photo of herself leaping ecstatically into the air at the Bedford L subway stop: “Pinch me, it's happened,” she wrote.

On November 10, Thinx followed up on its victory by releasing a 14-minute documentary called The Week - a long-planned project exploring the origin and impact of what the film calls “the oldest taboo in the world.” (Fun fact: the word “taboo” is said to be derived from the Polynesian word “tupua” - meaning “menstruation,” according to the documentary.)

But even as Thinx celebrated its successes, the company learned that its efforts to place similar ads on video screens in New York taxis and elevator banks had been roundly rejected by two media vendors, Captivate and CMT Media.

“It turned out that those companies are also old boys' clubs,” Agrawal says. “Even after everything that happened with MTA, they rejected our ads because they said riders might find the ads 'offensive.' “

That's the same word that MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast used to describe the Thinx ads, even after they were approved. “On a personal level, I just found parts of those ads offensive,” he said at an MTA board meeting, according to the New York Daily News.

And it's the same word that baffles and frustrates Agrawal.

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“You find the blood that created you 'offensive'?” she says. “This is very clearly a sexist double standard.”

In response, Captivate chief executive Marc Kidd said that the company made its decision after reviewing and testing the Thinx ads with a small focus group. He said the results showed that the ads weren't appropriate for the setting in question.

“We have been a trusted source of content and information in office buildings and workplaces for over 15 years and have a good sense for what our building owners, business tenants and viewers consider acceptable in a business setting,” Kidd wrote in an email. “My daughter and I discussed Thinx's product, as she is a user and loves them. So I know the product is comfortable and works as advertised. Our decision was based on the creative (content), which was too provocative for the workplace (where) our network is viewed.”

Agrawal says that Thinx is once again prepared to fight for its ad designs.

“This is really an injustice,” she says. “We're not going to stop until there is some real equality ...We are on a mission.”

That mission has always been about more than just underwear, Agrawal says.

During a 2010 trip to South Africa for the World Cup, Agrawal met a girl who said that she regularly missed a week of school during her period - “My week of shame,” Agrawal recalled her saying - because the girl had no access to menstrual products. Agrawal wanted to help change that, so for every pair of Thinx underwear purchased, funds are contributed to AFRIpads, a social business that sells affordable, reusable sanitary pads to women and girls in Uganda.

Thinx isn't stopping at tackling menstrual stigma. On Tuesday, the company plans to launch a sister product: “Icon” underwear “for women who tinkle” - ie, pregnant ladies, new moms or any other woman with urinary incontinence. A purchase of “Icon” underwear will prompt a donation by Thinx to the Fistula Foundation, which supports women who suffer from a painful postpartum condition that generally can be repaired with a simple surgery.

And in recognition of this week's Transgender Awareness Week, Thinx announced a boyshort version of its underwear, targeted at transgender men - a response to a point raised last year by members of the Reddit and Tumblr online communities: “A ton of people emailed us saying that women weren't the only people with periods,” Agrawal says. “We were pretty struck by this, as it was something we hadn't given a lot of thought to, which is not super surprising given that there's such a lack of trans male visibility.”

There will be ad campaigns for Icon and the boyshorts soon enough. And eventually, Agrawal and del Rosario hope to see those images displayed in public spaces in cities nationwide.

“It's exciting to be at the helm of a cultural shift,” Agrawal said. “There are definitely challenges along the way, but it just goes to show that there really is a good fight to fight, there really is sexism and double standards, and we can be one of the companies to break taboos and change the culture for women.”

Washington Post

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