How Libresse’s #WombStories disrupted old marketing rules | WARC | The Feed

How Libresse’s #WombStories disrupted old marketing rules

Menstrual hygiene brand Libresse – also known as Bodyform in various markets – called on people who menstruate around the world to share how it feels to have a womb, and used these “#WombStories” to create a tool to help recognise endometriosis, a condition that affects one in ten women. 

The background

• The menstrual product market categorically reinforces a narrow view of what it means to be a woman: get your period aged 12, repeat monthly, handle pain discreetly, have babies, then retire with your irrelevant body. 
• In a category driven by functionality, brands had forgotten to ask how women felt about their periods. 

The strategy

• Libresse/Bodyform reimagined the womb as a place full of stories and encouraged women from around the world to share their #WombStories. 
• Its resulting film gave women a new language and new tools to describe the body they have lived with their entire life. 
• Since women’s pain is something that is simultaneously expected and denied, Libresse/Bodyform commissioned a global “Pain Report” research project and a “Pain Dictionary”, both of which helped women recognise and talk about endometriosis.

Results

• #WombStories spread to 132 countries, despite only launching in 21, and generated over 300 articles globally. 
• The campaign was praised by health professionals, charities, and the media for championing women’s health. 
• Thousands of people shared their own womb stories in an act of collective catharsis. 
• The work won Gold in the 2021 APG Creative Strategy Awards.