‘The Tampon Test’ exposes data weaponization on menstruators in post-Roe America

The campaign aims to spread awareness and action about the effects of digital surveillance on “menstruators” in a post-Roe world, says the brand. It coincides with both the 50th anniversary of Roe V Wade – a landmark US Supreme Court decision that protected a pregnant individual’s right to have an abortion – and the repeal of the decision one year ago.

Following the overturn of Roe v Wade, 14 states have banned abortion, with some states such as Georgia prohibiting the procedures at the sixth week of pregnancy when most people still don’t know they’re pregnant. Meanwhile, some states are using personal data – in the forms of direct messages, period-tracking apps, cookies and search history – as circumstantial evidence against pregnant people in court.

Central to the campaign is a PSA disguised as a 90s infomercial for ’The Tampon Test,’ replete with “as seen on IG” title cards. The film sheds light on new laws in several states that prevent people from getting abortions and others that penalize those monitoring their reproductive health online.

The Tampon Test boxes are currently not available for purchase; rather, a small number of them were developed to shed light on this issue and were distributed to changemakers. The brand says 5% of the box sales went to Plan C, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing accessibility to at-home abortion pills in the United States.

With this campaign, the brand says it aims to galvanize both menstruators and non-menstruators to support the My Body, My Data Medical Privacy Act – a bill that would protect personal reproductive and sexual health information – by donating and writing to their legislators.

“’The Tampon Test’ is our way of shedding light on the hidden invasion of privacy menstruators are facing today,” said Nadya Okamoto, co-founder of August. “By disguising tests as tampons, we are bringing awareness to the lack of privacy and reflection, which would allow menstruators the time and space to make timely and informed decisions about their reproductive health privately, as they should.”

’The Tampon Test’ campaign was co-created with WPP agencies VMLY&R, BCW, The Vault and Hogarth, as well as with the following creators: Marta Duarte Dias, Aspekt, Gustav Almestål, Space Lute and Ginny Hogan. It also represents a joint effort between August, vaginal health brand Stix and Plan C.

“At Stix, a huge part of our mission is to educate people on their reproductive health and rights,” said Jamie Norwood and Cynthia Plotch, co-founders and co-CEOs of Stix. “Being able to track periods is an essential part of understanding so many health-related factors when it comes to birth control, family planning, and identifying potential serious health issues.”

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