MMC partnered with U by Kotex* to announce the winners on Saturday of the U by Kotex “Ban the Bland” Design Contest, which challenged consumers to bring design to the bland feminine care category during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. The winners were three of 15,000 consumers who submitted designs for feminine care products. The winners were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with fashion visionary Patricia Field to develop their designs into colorful U by Kotex* accessories that will inspire the future of feminine care and U by Kotex* designs. In addition, they attended the Charlotte Ronson fashion show.
U by Kotex also took advantage of Fashion’s Night Out to distributed product samples in trendy areas throughout the city.
Last night, MMC won two Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence for its work on Kimberly-Clark’s U by Kotex and Poise. These prestigious awards, given by the Public Relations Society of America, are proud additions to a number of other awards these public relations campaigns have won this year, including the SABRE, the Big Apple, the PR News Platinum Award and a Bronze Effie.
Although the agency has won many awards in recent years, including Consumer Shop of the Year and Creative Agency of the Year, the widespread recognition we’ve received for the Kotex and Poise campaigns is quite meaningful to an agency that specializes in marketing to women.
It’s because we broke through a barrier for the second time – receiving an award for marketing to women in a category that made the judges uncomfortable.
In 1996, MMC swept all the PR Awards, including the Silver Anvils, for our launch of the Wonderbra. We made the brand into a household name, helping to generate sales that went through the roof and lift the parent company’s stock to new heights. This accomplishment was despite the fact that none of the judges – for any of the awards we won – were comfortable voting for the Wonderbra. They considered it “girly” and “female” and “frivolous.” Yet they felt compelled to vote for us because our results were extraordinary.
In 1996 it was about overcoming discomfort above the belt. In 2011, we tackled below the belt – menstruation and light bladder leakage (or as the Poise spokesperson Whoopi Goldberg called it, the “spritz”). These topics were so taboo that television networks refused to run TV commercials that used the term “down there” – although they had no problem running ads for Viagra that warn men to consult their doctors if they “experience an erection that lasts more than 4 hours.” We know the “fem hy” category and use of the word “vagina” makes many people uncomfortable. So we are especially grateful that the judges could look beyond these category taboos and vote for our campaigns simply because we produced phenomenal results that had a powerful impact on the products’ bottom line.
We couldn’t have a better client partner – Kimberly-Clark, who had a commitment to shaking up the category. And we’re proud of MMC’s teams, led by Health & Well-Being practice leader Diana Littman Paige and SVP Jennifer Horowitz, for breaking yet another barrier in marketing to women and for helping women to be more comfortable with everyday health issues that no one should be ashamed of.
I am looking forward to the day when prejudices and discomfort about women’s health issues and products for “down there” comes to an end!
MMC and Kimberly Clark were awarded two Sabre Awards at last night’s ceremony in New York City for its work with U by Kotex and Poise.
Poise took home the award in the “Marketing to Women” category for last year’s program that helped women break down barriers to seeking treatment through a game changing program centered on humorous webisodes created by comedian/actress Whoopi Goldberg, who imagined great women in history who might have “leaked.” The campaign drove the highest-ever U.S. market share for Poise and 250+ million media impressions.
U by Kotex won in Marketing to Youth with a program that showed millennials that U by Kotex is not your mother’s menstrual protection by being culturally disruptive and consistently innovative. The Declaration of Real Talk campaign inspired millennials to drop the code, metaphors and girly language about vaginal health and promoted social change. The program generated major traditional and social media coverage and drove women to action in purchase decisions and on the website.
Marti Barletta, author of “Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach, and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market” lauds the campaign for MMC client U by Kotex as “the new Dove of marketing to women.” In her blog, TrendSight, she calls out U by Kotex as “one of the few marketers who seems to really ‘get” women and cites the recently launched Ban the Bland campaign as one that “brings together fun, fashion, user engagement, promotion and cause marketing to create a real break-through in marketing to women.” Okay, we’re a little proud, but wouldn’t you be too?
Research shows that one in three young girls have no idea what’s happening when they get their first period, and four out of five moms feel only somewhat, or not at all, prepared to talk to their daughter about her changing body. The Kotex brand is providing the tools to empower moms to proactively talk to their daughters and guide them through this important “first,” including a new line of products designed specifically for tweens – U by Kotex Tween.
The brand has partnered with Dr. Lissa Rankin, gynecologist, mother, author, life coach and founder of online community, Owning Pink, who is passionate about encouraging open communication among moms and their daughters. Given the earlier onset of puberty in girls now than in previous years, the Kotex brand experts are providing a wealth of tools to help moms prepare for this sometimes uncomfortable and difficult talk. Tools, available at www.Kotex.com/Tween, include conversation starters, an interactive calendar to help mom pick a day to talk to her daughter, information on first periods and other tough topics as well as a place to connect with other moms.
The Kotex brand has also worked with DisneyFamily.com to update the “Story of Menstruation” video for its 65th anniversary. The video, available at the Kotex website, features Dr. Rankin with other parenting experts in a discussion about preparing for the first period conversation and how committing to picking a day to talk to your daughter can ease apprehension around the discussion.
For more information about the campaign, visit today’s New York Times to learn more.
MMC campaigns for P&G’s Head & Shoulders, NovoNordisk’s Insulin Franchise and Kimberly-Clark’s U By Kotex have been named as finalists in PRSA-NY’s 2011 Big Apple Awards. The Big Apple Award promotes and encourages the highest standards of professional practice and public service.
Being named a finalist, according to PRSA, means these campaigns have either won the Big Apple Award or an Honorable Mention in the category in which they were submitted. Winners will be announced during PRSA-NY’s Awards Reception on Thursday, May 26 at the Hudson Theatre, Millennium Broadway.
Girls have design choices to express themselves in all aspects of their lives — from fashion to the color of their cell phone. So why do they still have to settle for the boring and institutional look of feminine care? U by Kotex*, a bold feminine care line from Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and MMC have partnered with fashion visionary Patricia Field to give girls the opportunity to take a stand against the bland look of feminine care and inspire the category’s future.
U by Kotex and Patricia are inviting girls to share their inspirations through an online design contest for the chance to work with Patricia to design a new U by Kotex product and to attend a runway show at Fashion Week in New York City. Everyone who submits or likes a design online at www.BantheBland.com, $1 will go to Girls For A Change—a national non-profit organization that empowers girls to create and lead social change within their communities. For some inspiration, check out Patricia’s video tips!
This campaign is a continuation of U by Kotex’s mission that kicked off in 2010 and created a social movement that empowered women to take control of their health and bodies and make positive societal changes. Over 2 million girls went online to join the movement and sign the Declaration of Real Talk and support social change trainings in markets across the country.
Check out the news at People.com and Ad Age.
MMC partnered with U by Kotex* to announce the winners on Saturday of the U by Kotex “Ban the Bland” Design Contest, which challenged consumers to bring design to the bland feminine care category during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. The winners were three of 15,000 consumers who submitted designs for feminine care products. The winners were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with fashion visionary Patricia Field to develop their designs into colorful U by Kotex* accessories that will inspire the future of feminine care and U by Kotex* designs. In addition, they attended the Charlotte Ronson fashion show.
