The initial campaign delivered on the brand promise of being ‘fearless’, but also attracted widespread attention, winning best PR Healthcare Campaign of the Year as well as two African Crystal Awards. Ultimately, it helped the brand move up one position in a competitive category.

In this iteration, Libresse tackles the potentially embarrassing issue of odour for women who are having their period. While Libresse Maxi Pads will save them from the embarrassment of odour, this campaign wants to save women from being embarrassed about periods, period.

BBDO South Africa's CEO, Boniswa Pezisa, says, “With Libresse’s first campaign, 'Vagina Varsity', the issue of language became clear; many women did not have the courage to say what they meant when it came to talking about vaginas and vaginal health – opting instead for metaphors and euphemisms to describe normal bodily functions.” Now, Libresse wants to take the embarrassment out of period talk by highlighting how ridiculous it is when we don’t say what we mean.

Pezisa adds, “'Vagina Varsity' happened in private in people’s inboxes – but now, we’re going bigger and taking the brand directly back into the lounge on TV, but with a totally different approach. The language and execution play off how crazy it is when we don’t say what we mean when we’re talking about periods, by hyperbolising euphemisms often used in the category, and then directing viewers to 'Vagina Varsity', a platform where nothing is too embarrassing to talk about in real terms. The execution features our stars from Pap Culture who ask you, the audience, to once again push the limit, by making your own advert. They even ask you to star in it.”

The interactive ad allows viewers to select their own euphemisms from drop-down menus and, thus, to control the script. But the options are random and unassociated. A viewer-created script could end up reading, 'When a woman is on her squirrel every month, violets and other stuff come out her vase. Wearing a couch for the whole day can cause odour. Unembarrass your period with Libresse Maxi pads with odour control.'

Pezisa concludes, “Once again, the campaign can be seen as provocative, but we are simply taking out the embarrassment of odour control and talking in a way that resonates.”

The 'Vagina Varsity' campaign, managed by Net#work BBDO and media liaison partner, ByDesign Communication, built up Libresse’s email subscription list to around 8 500 and the number of Facebook fans to nearly 35 000. The ‘unembarrass your period’ campaign goes social to target these audiences too.

For more information, visit www.libresse.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.