Midol
No Apologies Period
Situation Analysis
Millennial and Gen Z women are defined by their ambition, confidence and desire to make a difference in the world. But in this cultural moment of “girl power,” there’s at least one topic that remains shrouded in shame — periods. Midol, the #1 period relief brand, discovered that 62 percent of menstruators under age 40 have apologized for their periods or period symptoms. The worst part? They learned it from older generations.
Midol, which rebranded in 2020 to broaden its appeal particularly to Millennial and Gen Z menstruators, realized it’s not enough for a brand to rely on efficacy. They need to stand for something. Enter #NoApologiesPeriod -- a purpose-driven campaign to stop the cycle of over-apologizing and encouraging a societal shift that embraces periods and menstruators. Because you don’t need to apologize. Period.
Strategy
In its first year of what will be a multi-year campaign, Midol set out to lead the reframing of the conversation by shining a light on the “period apology.” Only by creating an open dialogue about periods — listening to real stories, sharing personal journeys and relaying resources — can the real shift in behavior begin. No hiding. No apologies. Period.
Midol then enlisted the insight of industry experts and relevant voices to share their expertise and personal period apology experiences to encourage engagement and give people with periods a platform to have an open dialogue about their own experiences.
Execution and Tactics
The campaign was centered around a series of videos that featured people of all ages, ethnicities and genders who shared stories of apologizing for their periods. From issuing “sorrys” for feeling hungry, to not being able to be intimate with a partner, to not wanting to be perceived as “too emotional,” the menstruators opened up about their stories of over-apologizing and the shame and diminishing feelings this leads to. “If I don’t stop [apologizing],” one woman says, “my daughter and future generations aren’t going to stop apologizing.”
The videos were launched across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and the Midol website. Campaign reach was further expanded by repurposing user-generated content and updating organic content on Midol social channels.
Midol also partnered with Bustle Digital Group on co-created content to reach three distinct voices across three properties—Nylon, Bustle and Elite Daily. The customized content spurred sharing, conversation and additional video views, outperforming BDG’s benchmarks by double across almost every metric.
Effectiveness & Results
#NoApologiesPeriod resonated strongly with the younger target as demonstrated by a 22% decrease in period apologies. In addition, the brand saw a +5 pt lift in “brand I trust,” a +4% increase in “Strongly agree that -“Midol is a brand that understands women,” and double-digit sales growth during the campaign period.
The campaign also doubled the brand’s following on social channels. Online engagement with posts from the brand and influencers were 3x the industry standard and the campaign generated 780 million earned impressions. Lastly, the videos received more than 50 million combined video views following launch.
