to those sqeaumish advertisers who are against using the word "vagina" or "down there," I have a message for you--

SUCK MY TAMPON!!!

Good post - but am I missing something? I watched the ad three times and I didn't hear "down there" anywhere in it.

I think the people who made this must have watched "Target:Women". This is really similar to Sarah Haskins' style of mockery.

In addition to boner pills, we now have toilet paper ads about bears literally crapping in the woods (which I actually do find disgusting btw, probably because it's supposed to be "cute"). The least we can do is quit being terrified of womens' biological processes.

That first Kotex ad with the fellow in the grocery store. HOLY CRAP. How can SO MANY PEOPLE (especially women) KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS!?

It's seriously nonsensical that references to the vagina in a purely medical context (menstruation) are taboo, but references to the penis in a sexual context (erectile dysfunction) aren't. Is this another "Ew, girl parts are weird and gross" thing?

I really liked those ads. When I think about it, it's no wonder that I was so clueless about my period until I got it—I learned the basic idea in school, but everything else I heard was in the vaguest of euphemisms. My mother never even taught me the word vagina (or vulva, for that matter), but she taught my brother the word penis; my little brother knew the name for his parts before I knew the name for mine. If I mention the dreaded v-words today, she still gets uncomfortable.

Erectile dysfunction, though? I know all about that, and no one ever had to teach me.

Great advertisement ideas.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard "Penis" used in a commercial either; I bring this up because it sounded like you were implying men get off scot-free because commercials talk about erectile dysfunction, but I've heard a penis referenced as "That special area," before (or something to that effect.) Thoughts?

I make a point of buying no-name/small-company feminine products whenever I can, specifically because they *don't* advertise. I hate that it's hardly possible anymore to watch TV with family members or friends, not because of the content of the TV shows (about which one can be selective), but because the stations are willing to put ads for highly personal products on during the breaks. I don't want to give my money to companies that act this way; this is disgusting, juvenile, media-attention-seeking behaviour. Certainly, Kotex is never getting my business again.

So we can hear about "that certain part of the male anatomy" and erectile dysfunction a bazillion times a day but the vaguest references to a woman's vagina are too much for people to bear? WTF?

I like the ad- definitely reminiscent of Target Women- but at the end of the day Kotex is still a pushing the same wasteful, environmentally damaging products as the companies making the stupider adverts. This kind of self-aware marketing papers over the fact that they still make their money off the exact same beliefs as the others- that vaginas are unmentionable and periods are gross and need to be hidden away as totally as possible so that we don't inconvenience society any more than necessary, by spending buckets of money on disposable products (which adds up, like the social semi-obligation to wear make-up, to being some kind of weird socially mandated gender tax).

What bugs me even more than ads about tampons and pads is the complete absence of ads for reusable menstrual products. I didn't know such things existed until I was 23!! And most people, including gynos, still don't know about them!

I purchased a reusable menstrual cup about 6 years ago for $40. It seemed like a big purchase at the time, but I figure I've saved about $320 by using it. And I LOVE that I don't produce trash during my cycle anymore. ^_^

And no, I haven't gotten any infections. It's easy to clean and turned my period from something gross and to be disposed of, into something that is just a natural part of life.

Those are really funky and fun commercials...but I still find the Kotex product line to be confusing and complicated.

Wow, that commercial nearly killed me, that last line "Oh, that's what's supposed to happen" had me nearly falling off my chair. If there was more ads like this, I would watch more tv.

Just want to give a shout out to a sociological study that blew my mind when I was doing my undergrad degree:
Laws, Sophie (1990) Issues of Blood: The Politics of Menstruation. London: MacMillan.
Laws did a superb in-depth study of menstruation by interviewing MEN. Not women, men! Her argument is that since we still live in a male-dominated world, it's actually much more interesting, and relevant, to study menstruation through what men think of it, because they are the ones whom the world is set up to please - they're the ones women work around when they keep their tampons, etc., all nicely discreet in the bathroom.
It's a fascinating study, especially the material she got from leaving her tape recorder running and then leaving the room while a men's group discussed the topic.

Women on their period get the witch powers to steal men's penises and menstrual blood contains the plague, DON'T YOU KNOW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU1BidE1VSg&feature=channel

this video goes great with this discussion!

Wow - menstrual cups?!? I've never even heard of them or sponges here in Australia. I try to use as many environmentally sustainable products as possible, but as another sufferer of v. heavy flow the washable cotton pads just don't work for me.
Can anyone suggest where menstrual cups & sponges are available from, what good brands are out there, & if they are available anywhere in Au?