Bodyform: Blood Normal by AMV BBDO

Bodyform and its Scandinavian equivalent, Libresse, have released a stylised film reworking the tropes of sanitary towel commercials. Notably, the ad begins with a shot of red, real blood being poured onto a pad, rather than the strange blue liquid of past creative.

The film was shot with grainy, retro realism by cinematographer Monika Lenczewska and director Daniel Wolfe. Against synth-driven electro music, it depicts girls going about daily life on their period – floating in the pool, picking up a new pack of towels and having a shower.

The latter shot focuses on the small drip of period blood down the girl’s leg.

Unremarkable in theory but boundary-pushing in practice, the 20-second film from AMV BBDO kicks off a new #Bloodnormal campaign. It was informed by the brand’s research that showed 9 out of 10 women still attempt to hide their periods, due in part to the taboo surrounding them on in culture, in advertising and in wider society.

A longer cut of the film has been released exclusively by Libresse. It explores the different ways women deal with periods around the world and, after showing shots of menstruating women in states of both pain and joy, ends with a girl changing her pad with the collected blood pixelated.

The line reads: ‘Periods are normal. Showing them should be too’.