Menstrual Hygiene Day: Touch the Pickle and #bloodnormal
Published · By Gaurav Phogat
Menstrual Hygiene Day falls on 28 May. Two of the best-known period campaigns, Whisper’s Touch the Pickle in India and Bodyform’s #bloodnormal in the UK, both won the Glass Lion Grand Prix at Cannes by naming something the category had avoided for decades. The lesson: pick one specific, visible taboo and break it in plain sight.
About Menstrual Hygiene Day
Menstrual Hygiene Day is marked on 28 May. It was started by WASH United, a German non-profit, in 2013 and first observed on 28 May 2014 (source). The date is symbolic: May is the fifth month, periods last about five days on average, and the cycle averages 28 days. The day aims to break the silence and taboos around menstruation, push for menstrual health to be built into global, national and local policy, and support the rights of women and girls. I could not verify an official global theme for 2026, so I have left it out.
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Touch the Pickle: breaking India’s kitchen taboo
| Campaign | #TouchThePickle |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Procter and Gamble India, Whisper |
| Agency | BBDO India, Mumbai (media: MediaCom; PR: Madison PR) |
| Year and country | Mid-July 2014, India |
| Linked health day | Menstrual Hygiene Day, 28 May |
| Timed to the day? | No |
| Channels | TV, YouTube and Facebook, front-page print, radio, magazines, influencers, live events |
| Headline result | 2.9 million women took part; share of voice rose from 21% to 91% (brand-reported) |
| Recognition | Glass Lion Grand Prix, Cannes Lions 2015 (the first year of the category); Bronze Media Lion |
The problem it had to solve
In many Indian homes, women on their period are kept out of kitchens and places of worship, and the best-known myth is that touching a pickle jar will spoil the pickle. A P&G and IPSOS survey cited at launch found 59% of urban Indian women still did not touch pickles during their periods (exchange4media). Sanitary pad advertising, meanwhile, spoke mostly about absorbency and comfort, not about the social rules women lived under.
The idea in one line
Take the smallest, most everyday period taboo, the pickle jar, and make touching it an act of defiance.
How it worked
The campaign ran in three phases (afaqs). First, the brand seeded the conversation with survey findings from 1,105 women and 202 men across 10 cities, radio shows and TV news debates. Second, a film launched on TV and digital with front-page ads in leading dailies in six cities. In the film, a girl touches a pickle jar on purpose, then goes on to break other rules, wearing white, going out and playing sport, while her grandmother and friends back her (exchange4media). Third, women were invited to share their own taboo stories online and at live events, with anthropologists explaining where the taboos came from. MediaCom bought quick “opportunity” placements whenever periods surfaced in the news, and chose digital and magazines over mass Hindi entertainment channels.
Results
The campaign reports that over 2.9 million women took part, it earned media worth USD 6.1 million, and Whisper’s share of voice grew from 21% to 91% (afaqs). The film drew over 1.9 million views on YouTube (afaqs). It won the Grand Prix in the first year of the Glass Lion, created in 2015 with LeanIn.Org to reward work that tackles gender inequality. These are brand and agency figures from award entries. I found no independent measure of whether the taboo itself weakened.
What makes it stand out
- A tiny, concrete symbol: a pickle jar is funny, domestic and instantly Indian.
- A doable act: touching a jar is a small rebellion anyone can perform.
- Data first: leading with survey findings gave news media a reason to cover it.
- Allies on screen: the grandmother’s support reframes the taboo as something families can drop together.
Criticism and limits
The results come from the brand and its agencies, and share of voice measures conversation, not changed household rules. The media plan deliberately chose “educated and evolved” audiences over mass Hindi channels (afaqs), so it may have reached the women least bound by the taboo. It is also a pad brand making money from the cause it champions, which is fair but worth stating.
Would it pass in India today?
As a product ad, it falls under ASCI, and its claims were social rather than medical, so it carries little risk. A hospital version would be health education under clause 8.2 of the NMC 2026 guidelines. Inviting women to share stories is fine for education, but using those stories to promote a gynaecology department would breach clause 8.1(ii), and identifiable stories need DPDP consent.
Watch or see the campaign: Touch the Pickle on Cannes Lions’ Love The Work
#bloodnormal: showing red instead of blue
| Campaign | #bloodnormal |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Bodyform and Libresse (Essity) |
| Agency | AMV BBDO, London (director: Daniel Wolfe) |
| Year and country | October 2017, UK and parts of Europe |
| Linked health day | Menstrual Hygiene Day, 28 May |
| Timed to the day? | No |
| Channels | Online film, social media; later adapted in other markets |
| Headline result | No sales or reach figures verified; the outcome is the industry shift it signalled |
| Recognition | Glass Lion Grand Prix, Cannes Lions 2018 |
The problem it had to solve
For decades, pad ads showed product tests with blue liquid. The category itself was hiding periods. Bodyform’s own research found over a third of women saw periods as a taboo, ranking it above mental health problems and the gender pay gap, and 56% of girls said they would rather be bullied at school than talk to their parents about periods (It’s Nice That).
The idea in one line
Periods are normal, so showing them should be too: replace the blue liquid with red.
How it worked
The film, directed by Daniel Wolfe, pours red liquid onto a pad in a product demonstration and cuts between everyday moments: a woman asking a friend for a pad, a man buying pads, a girl in the shower with blood running down her leg, a woman changing a pad (It’s Nice That). It launched online in the UK and parts of Europe in October 2017 with the hashtag as the call to talk openly. Sister brand Libra later ran #BloodNormal in Australia (The Drum).
Results
I could not verify published reach, sales or attitude results, so I have not used any. Its clearest outcome is recognition: the campaign won the Glass Lion Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2018, described as the first sanitary towel ad to show period blood instead of blue liquid. Jury president Madonna Badger said the decision was unanimous (Contagious).
What makes it stand out
- It broke its own category’s code, not just society’s.
- One visual change, blue to red, carried the whole message.
- It included men and girls, making periods a shared, ordinary topic.
- The hashtag doubled as the brand position, so the idea could travel across markets.
Criticism and limits
Not everyone welcomed it. In Australia, Libra’s version drew more than 600 complaints, which Ad Standards dismissed in 2019, finding no breach of the Code of Ethics (Women’s Agenda). Even Cannes jurors admitted they were uneasy at first (Contagious). The insight data comes from the brand’s own survey, and there is no published proof that the work changed attitudes rather than winning praise inside advertising.
Would it pass in India today?
As a brand ad, it would be judged by ASCI on decency, and the Australian ruling suggests realistic depiction is defensible. For a hospital, frank, clinical images of menstruation in a gynaecologist’s educational video are allowed under clause 8.2 of the NMC 2026 guidelines. Keep it anonymised and educational, as clause 8.1(v) only permits such imagery when it is not used for promotion.
What an Indian hospital can borrow for Menstrual Hygiene Day
- A “myth or fact” carousel series (Low: under Rs 1 lakh). Channel: Instagram and WhatsApp, in Hindi and regional languages, with a gynaecologist answering one period myth a day in the week of 28 May. Compliance: health education in the doctor’s own name under clause 8.2; no “best gynaecologist” tags (clause 8.1(iii)).
- School and college period talks (Mid: Rs 1 to 10 lakh). Channel: partner with schools and colleges for doctor-led sessions, with a take-home leaflet and a parents’ guide on how to talk about periods. Compliance: allowed under clause 8.2; get school and parental consent before any photos, and collect no student data without DPDP consent.
- A “when to see a doctor” period health page (Low: under Rs 1 lakh). Channel: a factual website page and Google Business Profile post on symptoms worth checking, with clinic timings and consultation charges. Compliance: factual service information is allowed under clauses 8.3 and 9.1; no patient stories or before and after content (clauses 8.1(ii) and 8.1(v)).
Related reading
- Health awareness days India calendar
- Iconic Health Campaigns: the full series
- Hospital social media marketing
- NMC advertising guidelines 2026, explained
Sources
- Menstrual Hygiene Day, Wikipedia
- Whisper’s #TouchThePickle campaign, exchange4media (July 2014)
- Cannes 2015: BBDO India’s Touch the Pickle wins Glass Grand Prix, afaqs
- How Procter and Gamble India touched the pickle, afaqs
- Touch the Pickle, Love The Work (Cannes Lions)
- Bodyform #bloodnormal, It’s Nice That (October 2017)
- Cannes Lions Glass winners 2018, Contagious
- 300 Brits complained about a period ad, The Drum
- Ad Standards dismiss complaints about Libra’s #BloodNormal, Women’s Agenda (2019)
Questions people ask
The date is symbolic: May is the fifth month, periods last about five days on average, and the menstrual cycle averages 28 days. WASH United started the day, first observed in 2014.
BBDO India created it for Procter and Gamble’s Whisper brand in 2014. It won the first Glass Lion Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in 2015.
It was described as the first sanitary towel ad to show red liquid instead of the usual blue, challenging the category’s own habit of hiding periods. It won the Glass Lion Grand Prix in 2018.
Run doctor-led myth-busting posts in local languages, partner with schools for period talks, and publish a factual page on symptoms worth checking. Avoid patient stories used for promotion and superlative claims.
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