Kotex, a menstrual hygiene brand, made a bold move at India’s Kila Raipur Sports Festival 2023 by organising a relay race where female athletes passed an open sanitary pad instead of a baton.
The brand stated that the event is aimed to spark a conversation about menstrual hygiene and break down the stigma surrounding periods and it hopes to challenge negative perceptions and celebrate female success by bringing taboo products to the forefront of events that celebrate women.
The race and winning ceremony were documented on video, showcasing inspiring moments and reactions from participants and the audience.
Watch the film here:
Saakshi Verma Menon, MD-Kimberly – Clark India, said, on the activation, “As a pioneer in feminine hygiene globally, Kotex believes that a period should never come in the way of any women’s progress. In a country like India, where there is no dearth of talent and grit within our women, the taboo and stigma within society around periods is what hold’s us back from championing their progress! It is about time that we normalize periods and support our women in breaking the glass ceiling. At Kotex, we don’t just make pads, we actively identify problems women face when it comes to periods and tackle them with revolutionary solutions. Our disruptive new launch of Kotex ProHealth+ Sanitary Pads will end the old cycle of choosing between singular benefits and give young girls a chance to elevate to Healthy Period Protection. Because we truly believe – Period Or Not, She Can!”
Harshad Rajadhyaksha, CCO-Ogilvy India, said, “Even in 2023, periods are still not spoken about openly. But today the young girls of India are braver, freer, and ready for change. Partnering with brand Kotex that has always stood for change, healthy period protection and women’s progress, we held #PeriodOfChange – the world’s first relay race where young girls passed a sanitary pad to each other, instead of a baton. They did this in front of a stadium full of people at India’s longest running sports fest – the Kila Raipur Sports Festival. With Kotex #PeriodOfChange we hope to inspire more and more people to bring periods out from behind closed doors and turn this into an open conversation.”
