Meaningful innovation in the menstrual health and pelvic floor spaces has been stagnant and

lackluster for the past 80 years, and the narrative surrounding these subjects has embedded a

deep sense of shame, confusion, and secrecy for women in America. Thinx is on a mission to change this — for every gender and generation. Since 2014, they’ve been smashing taboos with groundbreaking feminine care products that champion and support bodies throughout all stages of life.

The problem is many people don’t know who Thinx is or what they believe in. For their first national brand campaign, Thinx needed to make a splash with a provocative film that highlighted not only the product benefits of their period-proof underwear, but their brand mission of destigmatizing periods. The goal of the campaign was to change the perception of periods and push for social change around the stigmas and shame that come with them.

The first thing American women are taught when they get their period is to be ashamed of it. Forget cramps — the way society makes them feel is the most painful part. We decided to take a closer look at why there is such a big stigma around something so natural, and realized the main reason is because only half the population has to deal with them.

In this spot, titled “MENstruation,” we see what the world would look like if everyone had their period. The film follows men experiencing the same physical challenges women face every day while on their period, but without the emotional shame or embarrassment that comes with it. From checking for bloodstains to asking a friend for a tampon, this fictitious world where everyone is comfortable with periods begs the question: why are we not yet comfortable with them today?

In order for this campaign to be effective, we needed to show periods in their most authentic light. Unfortunately, the most relatable imagery is considered “unacceptable” to air on American television. Network restrictions around our bloodstain and tampon string vignettes further demonstrated the need for this campaign to exist. Ultimately our ad got banned for the exact point it was trying to make — if everyone was more comfortable with periods, the stigma and sensitivity around the topic wouldn’t exist. When the ad got banned, we weren’t surprised. We were prepared — with a PR strategy that turned the network censorship into a conversation to create even more awareness around the issue. As a result, our film —and its censorship story — was shared across the globe, earning PR in over 27 countries and more views than we would have gotten had the never been banned in the first place.

Knowing our imagery was controversial and would ultimately lead to network censorship, we were prepared with a robust PR plan to tackle networks head on. Thinx’s CEO took to Twitter and numerous media outlets to shed light on the issue, rallying powerful female leaders behind the cause. Due to our limited media budget, we knew we needed to leverage the momentum of this roadblock to create even more awareness.

We amplified our censorship story by leveraging relationships with news outlets like The Independent and Time; activists like Monica Lewinsky and Cecile Richards; celebrities like Ilana Glazer and Mindy Kaling; and even ordinary people who cared about our mission—earning us more publicity than we would have gotten had the networks initially approved to run the ad.

The PR strategy worked, and forced networks to reevaluate—and finally run—the once-banned scene; resulting in the first in-use tampon to ever air on national TV.

In the first two weeks, the film was covered in over 27 countries by major publications like The Independent, Time, and The New York Post, and received over 6MM views. As a direct result, Thinx saw an over 85% increase in site traffic — successfully converting viewers of the ad into new customers.

The video completion rate reached nearly 84%, exceeding the average benchmark by 37%. Targeted users were even viewing the video to completion in skippable environments, like YouTube Pre-Roll.

Upon posting the ad, Thinx’s Instagram account saw 637% more engagement than average, resulting in more social conversation around the brand than ever before.

Our PR strategy worked; the public outrage regarding our film’s censorship forced networks to reevaluate — and finally run — the once-banned scene. Thus resulting in the first in-use tampon string to air on national TV.

And most importantly, it got people talking about periods. Proving that a brand with enough ambition to evolve the period product category can help evolve the conversation, too.