P&G invites us to "Have a Happy Period."

David over at ThirdWay Advertising Blog wrote an excellent review of some new Always print & media ads. They're all pretty decent, until we get to the tagline: "Have a Happy Period."

As he writes, there are a couple of ways to take that:
A) It's empowering! It's shedding the shame and fear and repulsion of the past and encouraging us to embrace our bodies!
B) Have you ever had a happy period? How dare P&G intrude upon a private, intimate, and sometimes very comfortable event.

Menstruation is definitely not a sign of women’s deficiencies, and it’s great that people (and companies) are trying to vigorously dispel that myth. At the same time, do they have to try this vigorously?

Thanks to some personal experiences, I'm sort of on the fence with this one. I like the idea of empowerment & positive affirmations, and esp. casting off the negative light of what is a natural process, but I don't want to be told that it should be happy, joyous, or otherwise. Thoughts?

Another small issue: When you look at the ads and their emphasis on cleanliness, they might also make some women feel "dirtier" than they would otherwise during their period. Always means well, but I think certain women may receive mixed messages and feelings about the whole thing: Menstruation's natural, but here, take a wipe and clean up "that odor." Delivering a positive message but still selling a hygiene product is a bit of a balancing act in this case.

The ads were done by Leo Burnett, and to see more of them, go here. The tag line appears in the lower right of most of the print ads.

*In my opinion, it definitely crosses the line when Always's website has e-cards to send to gal pals "wishing them a happy period."