r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/MicV66 • 7h ago
Video Menstruation Ad in South African Newspaper
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u/Apprehensive-Unit268 7h ago
Brilliant
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u/UpperApe 4h ago
It is. But it's important to remember:
This isn't an ad. This is activism. Or a public service announcement, if anything.
It's important to make that distinction because a generation is growing up overexposed to ads and content and digital media and they need to understand the difference.
Ads are about selling products and services; they are motivated by exposure for profit. Activism is about pushing an idea or awareness; they are motivated by a sense of responsibility.
We have to separate the two.
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u/peelen 3h ago
This isn't an ad. This is activism. Or a public service announcement,
This kind of ad is called a public campaign.
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u/Inverted-Rockets 2h ago
It’s more direct than that — they’re directly soliciting donations. The charity’s business is getting donations so they can continue to serve their mission and this ad is pursuant to that.
Public campaigns tend to be run by organizations like the Ad Council in the US that don’t directly gain from the messaging they produce and promote a change of behavior rather than calling for resources to address the subject matter.
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u/OnceMoreAndAgain 3h ago edited 3h ago
It's absolutely an ad. It is an ad to get people to donate to the Menstruation Foundation: https://menstruation.foundation/
Advertisements are not only for things that are driven by profit and there is nothing to separate. An advertisement is someone's attempt of making you aware of something they are offering. In this case, the offer is that you donate money to this foundation and in return they will try to help these children.
Advertisement isn't a dirty word.
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u/Beznia 3h ago
Yeah, that's like saying the Sarah McLachlan commercials for ASPCA aren't ads.
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u/DigitalUnlimited 2h ago
No those are torture animal snuff films disguised as ads
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u/RandomStallings 2h ago
Reminds me of PETA going into facilities and filming themselves hurting animals, then releasing that footage to damn the facility.
I'm not saying everyone in PETA is a psycho nutjob, but the number of people that are is far too high. Taking people who have good motivations and radicalizing them is the way of the extremist.
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u/Nexxus88 3h ago
Agreed, I went into this with the thought of disgust at a company using this as a marketing tactic.
I came out the other end saying that’s a fantastic way to spread awareness.
The context of it being used to make money vs it being used to help people made me do a complete 180 on my perception of it.
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u/MelaniaSexLife 3h ago
it's literally an ad since the objective of design is communication, not art.
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u/Supercoolguy7 3h ago
The objectives of art can also be communication. That's a nonsense distinction.
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u/No-Barber-5289 3h ago
I would actually argue that communication is perhaps THE defining feature of art.
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u/Eyelikeyourname 5h ago edited 5h ago
For the people who are wondering why pads are used instead of cloth rags, sometimes women and girls living in poverty lack access to clean water. There's also a stigma related to menstruation so drying the cloth discreetly is an issue. Improper washing and lack of sanitizing becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. When such a cloth is used again and again, there is a risk of infections. Also clothes keep slipping and can leak quite easily which is very uncomfortable. They cannot be changed when you're outside the house. A lot of girls drop out of schools worldwide due to a lack of menstrual products. Many cultures might not be comfortable with girls using tampons or cups so there's another factor which makes pads a necessity, especially for school girls.
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u/rOnce_Gaming 1h ago
Nice info was going to Google how they did it back in the days before pads and all.
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u/TheBlockChainVillage 5h ago
Fantastic. This would make the Golden age of advertisers proud. I'm from advertising and I haven't seen such amazing work for decades.
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u/SenorLvzbell 4h ago
Print makes it possible.
Tangible ART > digital art.
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u/Hugokarenque 4h ago
Art is art. This specific bit is only possible in print just like other art pieces are only possible digitally.
In a world where art is already being devalued by slop, lets not devalue it further on a person's choice of medium.
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u/Less-Apple-8478 2h ago
My opinion > Your opinion
you meant to say
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u/DigitalUnlimited 2h ago
Only if MY opinion isn't involved, then it's my opinion > their opinion ≥ your opinion
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u/KalaUposatha 3h ago
Effective advertising is a lost art. It should be about product or service information. Now, they figured out that people don’t respond to that as much as psychological manipulation.
I’ll sometimes watch old commercials, and they’re slow-paced, relaxing, just casually telling you about the product. So many commercials now are just things that are designed to get in your head. Bombastic, loud and obnoxious. There’s no information, it’s just designed to be flashy and in-your-face.
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u/GreedyLabrador 3h ago
South Africa has some excellent adverts - although this is one of the better ones
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u/TheBlockChainVillage 2h ago
They had a nandos ad where one dude is waiting waiting the sun to set and as soon as it happens he chomps, turns out it was Ramadan and he was waiting fasting. I had ordered within the hour of seeing the ad.
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u/mightylordredbeard 2h ago
The golden age of advertisers would never allow this topic to be printed in the first place. That’s part of the issue. Men have such old and outdated beliefs and ideals about women’s issues with periods being one of the top. Even some women shame other women about speaking on the subject.
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7h ago
[deleted]
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u/Blackraven2007 3h ago
Is this a bot? The account was made 4 months ago, but didn't start making comments until last week, and this comment is just summarizing the content of the post.
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u/DogeCatBear 3h ago
looks like they make batches of comments within minutes of each other doing exactly that so most likely. however I may also be a bot and you could be too!
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u/pipsqueakpanda4 7h ago
Amazing. I wish I could upvote this a hundred times
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u/Foloreille 6h ago
Have you tried to scan the code though
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u/Copthill 5h ago
You can pause and use Google Lens. It links to https://menstruation.foundation/donate/
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u/NoOneFartsLikeGaston 2h ago
He already said he wish he could give it more upvotes, just before moving on to the next post. What more do you want?
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u/Minglans 5h ago
Currently bleeding and can't buy any period products or even toilet paper for that matter and won't have any for a few days, fun stuff. I'll find a way but damn dude is it expensive to be poor.
There should be a universal basic box/pads free for girls and women who really need it and don't have to jump through hoops to get it.
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u/polyocto 5h ago
I’ve always wondered whether offices and other places of work should keep a stock of pads or other equivalent item?
Not being a woman I’m not sure how places of work can improve support here?
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u/shy_shy4 4h ago
I know you aren’t a woman, but wouldn’t it make the most sense If you are a corporation that makes money and you know you have women on your staff you should definitely make sure to keep free pads available. If men had period I don’t think this would be a question.
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u/smith5000 4h ago
this is actually a thing in some places where i live (bc canada) a lot of our recreation centers, theatres, parks and a few other places bathrooms have free pads and tampons in little dispensers in the bathrooms. They also are courteous enough to put them in both the men's and women's bathrooms so transgender persons can feel comfortable in whatever bathroom the choose to use. It's definitely not everywhere but its really nice that some places are putting in the effort to just make life easier for people
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u/shy_shy4 4h ago
My college has the same thing and it’s so nice and sometimes women bring in a big pack and leave them in there. No one steals them or takes the whole pack, but if they did it wouldn’t be a problem because they are always refilled. It’s really nice! I just think the ops phrasing of the question “should offfices” is a tad silly. Like of course they should. They provide toilet paper and soap and paper towels , period products should be seen no differently.
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u/polyocto 3h ago edited 3h ago
But if no one brings it up or there isn’t a public discussion, then it’s one of those things that’s missing awareness.
I want to see this improve, but both men and women need go be comfortable talking about this together. Too often there is that nervousness that this is an uncomfortable item that only women can talk about. That’s a dangerous way of working with normal biology and excluding what should be allies in this discourse.
As to the point of “if men had to deal with this, then it wouldn’t be an issue”, that is likely true, but at the same time traditionally offices were run by men and they don’t always understand things not on their radar. Though this could be true of any group not the primary ones experiencing an issue. This is why open, and possibly uncomfortable, discussions are important to evolving things.
BTW I’ve tried bringing this up with female colleagues, but the embarrassment over the topic means it never seems to go anywhere. I’d be willing to put something next to the first aid kit (with my own money) if I understood what the right product was.
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u/_moosleech 3h ago
I want to see this improve, but both men and women need go be comfortable talking about this together. Too often there is that nervousness that this is an uncomfortable item that only women can talk about. That’s a dangerous way of working with normal biology and excluding what sounds be allies in this discourse.
Women are often shamed for talking about it, and many men (of all ages) act absolutely disgusted by the mere mention of periods.
I totally agree that it should be discussed more, but the limiter on that historically is not women being too shy to bring it up.
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u/eitherajax 4h ago
Many workplaces I've been at do have these in the female restroom! They've always been anonymously provided by the other women who work there. In fact, if I don't see a box of tampons/pads or fancy soaps/hand lotion in the restroom I question the camaraderie in the workplace.
Public restrooms sometimes have hygiene product dispensers as well, though those can cost money.
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u/Sizanllikew 3h ago
my work provides boxes of tampons and pads in ALL bathrooms, including all gender specific ones.
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u/Kitsa_the_oatmeal 56m ago
my uni has boxes for period products in their restrooms, supplied by anyone who's willing to donate theirs
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u/DotaDogma 3h ago
Looks like you're in Canada, DM and reply to me if you want. I'm happy to help pay for some immediately, as well as a disk or cup if that would help you more permanently.
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u/lenor8 5h ago
Have you tried a menstrual cup? It's dirty cheap and it lasts for years. You just need to have access to water.
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5h ago edited 4h ago
[deleted]
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u/crafting-ur-end 5h ago
A disk might work though they’re not as reusable. They typically don’t sit as high as a cup, nor do they have as intense suction
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u/Roxanne712 4h ago
they make reusable discs now out of medical grade silicone. the one i have is called the flex disc and it changed my life
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u/TrickySpecific 4h ago
I have 2 from Hello Periods, I literally bought another for traveling/work because they have made it so I almost don't even remember that I'm on my period. So easy and comfortable. Wish I would have known they were a thing earlier in life. (41 now, discovered cups when i was early 30s, had the biggest shock because I thought only tampons and pads existed. Have also recently graduated to period panties and omfg what a relief)
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u/nidopallium 4h ago
Reusable pads are a great option if your anatomy doesn't accommodate insertables. Theyre a bit more expensive as an up front cost, but they last years and work great, and as a bonus they dont loudy crinkle the way disposable pads do.
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u/nekojirumanju 4h ago
i was going to suggest this as well, many people i know who can’t use cups but have a low enough flow use period underwear which is somewhat similar. upfront cost but saves a ton in the long run
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u/squuidlees 5h ago
This. All cups and disks hurt when I’ve tried to use them because they’re too big, even the small ones.
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u/throwaway098764567 1h ago
if you have access to a shower, you can scoop out the blood with your finger so it leaks less strongly for a few hours. i do this after mine lightens up to save on tampons
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u/tamihsra 4h ago
My mom's domestic helper, from Sulawesi, Indonesia, relayed a what she thought was a normal and funny story: one day, a friend of hers "smelled so bad like a rotten animal or a dead rat", it turned out the girlfriend didn't change her pad for 3 days. They came from a poor place, and the girlfriend's parents smoked weed and neglected their children, would rather gamble than spend on their children. It was one of the most horrible things we've ever heard.
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u/warau_meow 2h ago
I had friends in high school that would smell quite bad during their bleeding and eventually found out their mom couldn’t afford enough pads for the four of them (one mom and three daughters, in the southern US). So our friend group began saving up extra supplies we gave them when we could. If men bled this shit wouldn’t happen.
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u/ddrub_the_only_real 6h ago
Some 5D thinking right here. Props to who thought this out, has their heart in the right place < 3
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u/Sudden_Ad_3956 7h ago edited 4h ago
They still have newspapers?
I miss newspapers
Edit: I know newspapers still EXIST. I just miss the past when the masses took break to just sit down and read a piece of paper.
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u/One-Mud-169 6h ago
We still have a few newspapers circulating but they're printed in limited quantities. Most places have "local newspaper" which is usually available for free and gets sponsored by a shitload of advertisements and not much news.
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u/Foloreille 6h ago
Guys what the hell are you talking about
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u/ishpatoon1982 6h ago
I buy a normal newspaper a couple times a week just like I have for decades now.
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u/futuretimetraveller 5h ago
My parents still get the newspaper, but the reason they get it is so a neighbor kid can be paid to deliver it.
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u/Luna_bella96 1h ago
I’m South African. I get a local newspaper for free in my post box every week, with a lot of the booklets from the grocery shops that have specials running. I love it. Old newspapers get saved to wash the windows
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u/Major_Bench5329 6h ago
If men had periods this never would be an issue.
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u/catbuscemi 6h ago
Lol I love when the men get mad when you speak truth
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u/Major_Bench5329 5h ago
Can you believe some of these comments ?! lol so telling honestly. These men do it to themselves honestly.
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u/SlowThePath 5h ago
"If all of us had this issue instead of half of us, we would probably be working harder to address the issue... Because it's effecting literally everyone at that point, not just half of us."
"Nu-uh. You women just blame men for all your problems. Men never deserve any blame. It's your own fault."
As a dude, you dudes need to fucking CHILL. It's a perfectly rational line of reasoning.
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u/RolandoDR98 3h ago
Everyone poops. TP isn't free.
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u/Major_Bench5329 3h ago edited 3h ago
It is when you go to any public place/ company where I’m from. You don’t know when you’ll start your cycle. So out and about or school or work you pray that another woman has an extra but if she doesn’t then we wad up all the FREE tp and use that but that is a mess. So we have to go back every 10 mins to place new ones.
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u/RolandoDR98 3h ago
Aight valid, So a logical solution should be for places with public bathrooms should pay for the pads and have accurate inventory.
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u/Major_Bench5329 3h ago
Places with free tp and soap should always have free feminine hygiene products yes. But since blood is a hazard they absolutely should make it all around free. For the most part we humans can hold our poop but we can not hold our blood in. We share so many public spaces so at the very least men should also fight this fight if not just for selfish hygiene reason ..
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u/GottaUseEmAll 1h ago
It is in almost every public bathroom! What a stupid comment.
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u/BabyScreamBear 5h ago
That’s genuinely interesting! I don’t recall ever seeing something that innovative before
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u/477463616382844 1m ago
I don't think I have ever stopped to think and admire the ingeniosity of an ad before. They truly got their message through with this one.
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u/SuitableHurry3795 5h ago
Im far away from South Africa or needing feminine hygiene products but this ad got me choked up. Great ad.
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u/pseudoOhm 6h ago
Too bad the people who need the message, aren't the type to read the paper...
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u/Rancidcorn91 6h ago
The ad is for people to donate to help provide sanitary items for improverished individuals that need it, I would say the newpaper is a great option to send this message out (assuming people still read newspapers there)
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u/Particular-Cupcake16 1h ago
We do still read news papers here in SA. In fact, it still gets delivered weekly to a lot of areas for free. Its also at the entrance of most grocery stores
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u/ProgrammerPone 5h ago
Newspaper is really the only way to create this specific ad, super unique. Props to whoever the designer was honestly, very well done!
I do wonder though, did they design this with the idea of it making rounds online?
Of course newspaper has been dying for decades now. However I have noticed over the last 1-3 years a steady growth in the younger gens trying (keyword trying) to get away from the internet/screens/social media, as well as trying to buy/support local stuff. The most recent studies I could find show that roughly 50% of newspaper readers are early 30s or younger (can give source if asked).
I could totally see how the idea would be to put this in papers with a younger leanning reader base in hopes someone posts it online, just as op did.
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u/Copthill 1h ago
100% it was created with an online push in mind. Everything you now see in traditional advertising these days is. This newspaper is its region's oldest daily and these days only gets a circulation of 20k and daily readership of 60k among a population of 15 million (Gauteng province).
'Print' is just one of the traditional advertising formats, and one of the toughest but best ones to crack when you can. Creative teams will come up with a idea with a format for it in mind and then try see if they can make it work in other formats too, and not do the ones the idea doesn't work with. But a general rule is that if it works in print then you should be able to get it to work in most other formats. However, I don't see this one working in Radio, at least as a Launch channel and until more awareness is created.
A seemingly organic post like this is great for the campaign, and will be followed with a PR push and some interviews and award submissions to hopefully attract the maximum amount of fundraising for a Client who probably has a very small, or even non-existant, budget.
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u/Ornery_Hair3319 6h ago
I watched a female african advocate that creates her own menstration pads and donates it to girls. I just cant remember her name.
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u/no1_vern 4h ago
O, my, getting a period before the age of 11 sounds rough.
the average age of the first period dropped from 12.5 years (for those born 1950–1969) to 11.9 years (for those born 2000–2005). Additionally, the percentage of girls starting before age 11 nearly doubled.
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u/LFPenAndPaper 6h ago
Of course the first time I read a South African newspaper in years, the first page is about Bafana messing something up and the government messing something up. Peak.
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u/lake_trade 4h ago
This is great, I just don't understand why the most influential people, some women and other rich CEOs and such are not asked to provide for this. While a common news paper reader is asked for donation. Still everyone should contribute towards this.
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u/Either-Photograph989 36m ago
This is amazing. I still can’t believe in 2026 this continues to even be a conversation. Menstrual products aren’t a fun luxury, they’re a necessity.
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u/BeltfedHappiness 5h ago
Having to explain menstruation and feminine hygiene, in a newspaper, in 2026 is wild.
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u/waterfountain_bidet 5h ago
I don't think they were explaining feminine hygiene, they were discussing period poverty, which is a really different problem. The women and girls know they need something sanitary, they're using what they can. I think if almost anyone was given the option between eating and buying a pad, they would choose eating. Or perhaps they are people who depend on aid because of global destabilization efforts, and food is distributed but not period products.
The stigma should be on all of us who are okay living our lives in the developed world while some people are too impoverished to afford basic necessities that enable people to live with dignity, not on these girls and women who are making do with what they have.
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u/Hugokarenque 3h ago
They're not explaining menstruation. They're raising awareness and taking donations because there are impoverished women that literally can't afford hygiene products.
Something that people that are busy with their lives probably don't think about enough to easily identify as real problem.
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u/Electronic_Quote399 4h ago
Thats a bad ad because I would never get to it. I'd throw the newspaper away because its covered in blood
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u/GottaUseEmAll 1h ago
Newspaper delivery isn't really a thing in SA. You buy your newspaper from the shop in a rack, so you would easily see that it was printed identically on all the papers.
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u/Electronic_Quote399 1h ago
Ya, true if you purchased it. Id be willing to bet that they get circulated and shared a lot though. Libraries or community areas probably have a newspaper kicking around. Effective ad at the newsstand I guess, but I still bet there would be a lot of people who didnt touch the paper or see the ad, who normally may have otherwise
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u/dickenschewie54 5h ago
Has undertones of the super successful VW print ad "Think Small". Was it the '60s?
Oh... I used the word undertones. Completely inadvertently.
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u/Simon_Ferocious68 4h ago
I'm not going to lie - my first instinct as a woman is noooo don't let them see. But then when I think about young girls dealing with this - I also want to say, it's ok.
There's such as awkward balance to strike here where I want to be supportive - but I also immediately know how awkward and invasive it can feel to have to even address it.
Let me just say - I'm incredibly proud and happy to see a lot of people here ready and willing to help with/talk about what really amounts to dealing with life as half of the human species dealing with this stuff..
That said though, a period stain is kind of not how I want to show support.. I don't know. maybe I'm wrong.
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u/rosesandivy 1h ago
Why the shame and embarrassment? It’s just blood, and it’s a natural thing half the population goes through. And the other half should be aware of it because it is their mothers, sisters, partners and daughters who go through it. Period stains happen. They suck but I don’t get why they should be hidden.
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u/GottaUseEmAll 1h ago
What's wrong with a period stain? It's just blood (which we see in abundance on the screen and in images), and half the world sees period stains on a regular basis.
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u/Captain_Kab 4h ago
He was taught the wrong way to read.. guessing that substitutes would be substances.
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u/MightBeAGoodIdea 4h ago
r/DesignPorn might like it; or they might not.... they are pretty harsh critics sometimes
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u/Real_D_Lite 3h ago
I mean, what's the big deal. Just a couple of blood clots being washed away and preparing for a new cycle. Why, that's just the nesting stuff of life. That shouldn't be shunned. It should be embraced. Like how a man embraces the weekend. That’s why the woman I shall love will be able to menstruate as fully and freely as she desires. Even if her monthly flow should build in intensity to a raging rust colored torrent. An unbridled river of life giving blood flowing from between her legs. An awesome cataract plunging off the edge of our couch. I wouldn’t be phased. Even if Coureur de Bois would come up stream, battling the rapids, and singing a jaunty song, I would take no offense. Rather, I would ford across that mighty womanly river and fetch herbal tea and Pamprin. And then I would mop her brow and admire her fecundity. For I have a good attitude towards menstruation.
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u/Oldnbold22 3h ago
How's South Africa doing nowadays? Has it been a good recovery over the 30 years post-apartheid? Or is there still political violence?
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u/relentlessxo 3h ago
This is such a brilliant idea, going to leave quite the impression but what a sad state of affairs. The more I look into the world (especially during current times), the more it disappoints me.
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u/Ok-Golf-9502 6h ago
Next you’re gonna see a headline asking why no one wants to buy a newspaper that looks like it has someone’s blood on it. To which someone will interject; “not just blood, menstrual blood!”
🤣🤣🤣
Very bold marketing strategy.
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u/-Badger3- 4h ago
Imagine you're a jornalist who got their first article published in a newspaper and you buy a bunch of copies and there's period blood on it lmao
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u/Avalonians 2h ago
I'm gonna be pedantic but not with the aim of looking smart, but to learn something.
I'm not an English speaker. Does a communication from a non profit organisation still counts as an "ad"?
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u/juanlee337 1h ago
um.. might be good AD in theory but the 1st thing I would done is throw away this newspaper and try to get another one if I thought it was real blood
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u/MaximusHomerdrive 1h ago
What pisses me off is that Proctor & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark are the biggest makers of feminine products with a combined net worth of 370 BILLION.
They can't use just a tiny bit of that to help girls in need? Christ, how much money do these businesses need? All of it? If I owned a wildly profitable business like that, it would feel like such a privilege to donate to people in need, especially young girls who are the most marginalized part of society.
Why can't those with SO MUCH throw some scraps to those with nothing? I just don't understand the indifference and apathy. I swear, being rich is a sickness. No matter how much they have, it's never enough.
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u/twilight_moonshadow 1h ago
We live in a word where condoms for men are free and freely available. But women are left to bleed.
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u/grungegoth 6h ago edited 6h ago
my wife volunteers for a group called '"days for girls". they make durable reusable cloth products for girls and women in disadvantaged situations throughout the world. the products are distributed free of charge or a nominal fee, it's a non profit charity.
consider volunteering or donating:
https://www.daysforgirls.org/