Tag: StayFree

Stayfree turns taboo talk into period-positive chat

MUMBAI: From hush-hush to heart-to-heart, Stayfree is making sure period talk is no longer swept under the carpet. This Daughters Day, the brand rolled out its latest digital activation, turning parental rejections into real conversations.

Last year, 70 per cent of parents refused to let their sons be part of Stayfree’s bold campaign ‘Beta Stayfree le aana’, citing embarrassment, social pressure and fear of teasing. But instead of backing down, the brand saw those “noes” as proof that the stigma is alive and in need of dismantling.

The new film, created with DDB Mudra, follows content creator Linda Fernandes and a group of parents who had earlier rejected the campaign. What begins as awkwardness slowly unfolds into an honest chat on why involving boys in period ads matters. The film ends with a simple truth, “When we make our sons comfortable with periods, we make our daughters comfortable too.”

Over the past five years, Stayfree’s ‘It’s just a period’ initiative has been nudging families to normalise menstrual conversations: first with fathers, then with sons. The latest chapter tackles stigma head-on, showing that every candid conversation chips away at age-old shame.

“This campaign isn’t just advertising, it’s change in action,” said Stayfree’s parent company Kenvue’s marketing head Manoj Gadgil. “The rejections only strengthened our resolve.”

Streaming on Youtube and Meta, the campaign leaves viewers with one question: if sons can appear in ads for shoes or chocolates, why not sanitary

September 30, 2025
Stayfree launches bold new campaign with Kiara Advani

MUMBAI: Feminine hygiene brand Stayfree has unveiled its latest advertising campaign for Stayfree Secure XL featuring Hindi film star Kiara Advani.

The campaign challenges the societal expectation that women should ‘act normal’ during menstruation despite physical discomfort and anxiety about leakage.

In the film, Advani reflects on how her acting career began not on screen, but during her first period when she pretended to feel comfortable. The narrative highlights common struggles experienced by millions of women, including maintaining cheerful appearances despite constant worry about staining and coping with skin irritation from sanitary products.

The campaign promotes Stayfree Secure XL’s LeakLock technology and clinically tested non-irritant cover, which offers up to 12 hours of protection. Its central message—”When pads are comfortable, periods are comfortable”—aims to free women from the burden of pretending during menstruation.

Stayfree maker Kenvue vice-president marketing Manoj Gadgil said: “Girls and women put up an act braving through their days as normal. It is a period reality we acknowledge, and that’s why we are committed to offering superior products that provide comfort and long-lasting protection.”

Creative directors Harshada Menon and Siddhesh Khatavkar from DDB Mudra explained the campaign concept: “We used the creative device of an actor talking about acting on periods to deliver a strong message.”
Advani, who serves as the brand ambassador, added: “I still remember my first period—it was a new chapter in my life, but it also meant learning to ‘act’ like everything was normal despite the discomfort.”

The campaign launches on 25 February across television networks and social media platforms including YouTube and Meta, with versions available in multiple regional languages.

Stayfree is owned by Kenvue, the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company, whose portfolio includes brands such as Aveeno, Johnson’s, Listerine, Neutrogena and Tylenol.

Campaign credits:
Credits:
* Brand – Stayfree
* Agency – DDB Mudra Group
* Creative – Rahul Mathew, Harshada Menon, Siddhesh Khatavkar, Jyotsna Mohanty, Baskar Thevar Subbiah, Jena Shah, Kanchi Undevia, Darshika Kapadia
* Business – Saad Khan, Pooja Mehta, Snehal Wasnikar, Kanchan Joshi
* Strategy – Shashank Lanjekar, Atreyi Nag, Tanvi Agrawal
* Films – Jay Gaikwad, Alisha Dsouza
* Production House – The Magic Box
* Director – Abhishek Verman
* Producers – Srikanth Kumar, Mayur Patel
* Associate Producers – Neeraj Saini
* Editor – Utsav Bhagat
* Associate Editor – Ankit
* DOP – Satchit Paulose
* Production Designer – Amrita Singh
* Music Director – Rahul Pasi (Jamroom)
* Post Producer – Shiv Shankar Yadav

To watch the Kiara Advani acting Stayfree napkin TVC click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq-6bxG9sro&t=5s

February 25, 2025
Stayfree launches ‘#BetaStayfreeLeAana’ campaign

Mumbai: This Daughter’s Day, menstrual hygiene brand – Stayfree launched its latest digital campaign which highlights the importance of healthy period conversations within families that help the girl to become comfortable about her periods. Normalising periods among young boys is a critical step within a family construct. Stayfree encourages parents to talk to their sons about periods from a young age. With this campaign, Stayfree has come up with a simple idea yet powerful idea for parents to initiate this conversation by asking them to buy a sanitary napkin.

Four years ago, Stayfree launched its ‘It’s Just a Period’ campaign champions healthy period conversations amongst people who matter most to a young girl- “her family”. The campaign aims to positively change the narrative of shame and silence often associated with periods and instead create a world where conversations about periods are normalized. In this journey, Stayfree first encouraged fathers to be a part of the period conversation with their daughters, which then extended to ‘Talk to your Sons’ campaign encouraging parents to tell their sons “it’s just a period”. This year, Stayfree with its latest film takes another bold step in this direction with a simple call to action #BetaStayfreeLeAana to end generations of taboo.

Conceptualised by DDB Mudra, the new digital film captures poignant everyday moments in families, and conversations between parents and their sons which are heartwarming and relatable. The film thoughtfully portrays various household scenarios that help boys feel at ease with the topic of periods. From a mother encouraging her young son not to feel embarrassed about purchasing sanitary napkins during a grocery run, to another mother explaining that menstruation is a normal and healthy process for every woman, and a father discussing with his son the importance of supporting women during their periods, each moment is handled with care. The film leaves us with a powerful yet very simple message, “When we make our sons comfortable with periods, we make our daughters comfortable with it too.”

Kenvue vice president – marketing and business unit head – essential health, Manoj Gadgil said, “Periods have traditionally been a hush-hush conversation limited to the women of the house with male members asked to look away creating a society where periods are seen as social stigma. When one half of the population is kept out this conversation true change in society is impossible. At Stayfree, we are committed to normalizing period conversations and to create a world where no girl feels shame, fear or discomfort about periods. In our fourth edition, we take a real actionable step by not only urging parents to tell their sons ‘It’s just a period’ but also perhaps to go buy a sanitary napkin for their mother or sister taking a decisive step to end generations of stigma associated with periods.”

DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew shared, “Over the years, Stayfree has been committed to normalizing the conversation around periods. And a big cohort in the normalization journey needs to be men. Women feel more uncomfortable because men are not comfortable around the topic of periods. So, a good place to start the conversation is with boys.”

As a part of the new campaign, Stayfree has collaborated with popular national and regional influencers to highlight the important of healthy period conversations in families sharing personal experience of how they have normalised period conversations with their sons. The digital campaign will be seen across Youtube, Meta and leading OTT channels.

September 23, 2024
Kiara Advani and PV Sindhu join hands with Stayfree

Mumbai: To mark Daughter’s Day, Stayfree, one of India’s leading brands in menstrual hygiene, along with its Brand Ambassadors, Kiara Advani, and PV Sindhu are championing the importance of parents talking to their sons about periods. Kiara Avani, India’s leading actress and PV Sindhu, Badminton World Champion took to social media to encourage their followers, especially parents to talk to their sons from a young age about menstruation and encourage open conversations around periods.

Stayfree with its ‘This Daughter’s Day, Talk to Your Sons’ campaign aims to positively change the narrative of shame and silence often associated with periods and instead create a world where conversations about menstruation are simply normal and natural. This campaign is an extension of the brand’s ‘It’s Just a Period’ initiative which aims to break barriers and foster open discussions around menstruation starting with the people who matter most to a young girl – her family.

Through Instagram posts, Kiara highlights the importance of parents having open conversations with their sons about menstruation from an early age. PV Sindhu also emphasizes the need to educate boys about periods. Drawing lessons from the sports arena, she mentioned the importance of a minute in altering her game and how a minute of conversation can bring a change in the mindset of our society towards menstruation. To further champion this important issue, Sindhu encouraged her fans to take a pledge to talk to their sons, to reassure them that it is normal, and it’s just a period!

Commenting on Stayfree’s campaign, Kenvue marketing and essential health business unit head Manoj Gadgil said, “Over the years, Stayfree has been committed to normalizing period conversations to create a world where no girl feels shame, discomfort and fear about her periods. The brand strives to break barriers, eliminate taboos, and encourage an open dialogue around menstruation. This Daughter’s Day, we are delighted to join hands with our brand ambassadors to amplify this important message to create a more emphatic and informed society.”

Recently, Stayfree was recognised for its impactful ‘This Daughter’s Day Talk to Your Sons’ campaign at the 8th edition of the IndIAA Awards for Creative Excellence by the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), in the ‘Voice of Change’ category.

September 28, 2023
Weekend Unwind with: BBH ECD Priya Gurnani

Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind — a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of corporate executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.

In this week’s session, BBH India’s recently elevated executive creative director Priya Gurnani poured out her thoughts.

With over 15 years of experience, Gurnani specialises in building creative communication that is at the intersection of brands, culture, and consumer behavior. In the past, she has worked with Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, McCann Worldwide, and Contract Advertising.

In her advertising career, Gurnani has created culture-defining work for brands like Stayfree, Yatra.com, Heineken, Kingfisher Ultra, Amstel, and Zee5. Most recently, she conceptualised and wrote the lyrics to a rap song for Zing’s “Apni Vibe Apni Tribe” campaign. In 2009, she was amongst the winners of the Cannes Young Lions.

So, without further ado, here it goes…

·         Your mantra for life

To have fun while pursuing my dreams. Because if you aren’t enjoying what you are doing, you are just wasting your precious time.

·         A book you are currently reading / plan to read

I love to read new perspectives on humankind and human psychology. Currently reading “Homo Deus” by Yuval Noah Harari.

·         Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

Strong believer of “Yoga se hi hoga.” Post-covid I had a really tough time coming to a complete recovery. Yoga is what healed me and kept me going through the difficult health issues.

·         Your comfort food

Anything that my mum cooks.

·         When the chips are down a quote/philosophy that keeps you going

In an actors’ round table, Tom Hanks mentioned how he always reminds himself, “This too shall pass.” This phrase, he said, is particularly important when you are at the peak of success, as it helps keep you grounded. I keep these words close by in good times and bad.

·         Your guilty pleasure

Watching mindless reality TV, especially “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

·         When was the last time you tried something new?

Last week. I love experimenting with food. Bought these Chinese glass noodles to try.

·         A life lesson you learnt the hard way

I am not that important in the bigger scheme of things, and the world doesn’t revolve around me.

·         What gets you excited about life?

Travelling to different countries and experiencing new cultures and cuisines really fills my happiness cup.

·         What’s on top of your bucket list?

Travel to New York and watch Broadway.

·         If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Why so serious? Live a little.

·         One thing you would most like to change about the world

I propose “Free movement for all.” I want a world without borders, or passports, to be precise. A world where there are no immigrants and refugees, just people migrating at will like birds.

·         An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times

Painting has seen me through my highs and lows. I am no M. F. Hussain, but expressing my artistic self without judgement and freely is very liberating.

·         What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

It changes from time to time. Sometimes it’s cooking, sometimes taking a dance class, at times listening to Badshah’s songs, and sometimes just chit-chatting with a friend about a show we both watch.

·         Your go-to stress buster

I can always bank on a good workout to bust that stress.

November 5, 2022
Tista Sen bids adieu to Wunderman Thompson after 21 year stint

Mumbai: After spending 21 years at the agency, Wunderman Thompson South Asia regional creative director Tista Sen has called it a day. Her next destination remains unknown as of now.

Talking to Indiantelevision, Sen says, “It feels like I’m leaving my home because WT has always been a home, a comfort place for me. I just thought it is time for me to get out of my comfort zone and do something different.”

Commenting on her leave, a spokesperson from Wunderman Thompson said, “Sen now wants to embark on a new career journey that takes her away from WT India that has been home to her for the past 22 years. We wish her all the best in her next adventure.”

Sen started her career with Whitelight Productions, one of India’s leading ad film production companies, after which she joined Lowe Lintas as a writer. Five years down the line, she moved to Ogilvy for a brief stint and returned to Lowe Lintas. In 2001, Sen joined Wunderman Thompson (previously J Walter Thompson) and had been there ever since.

She has assisted on over 60 commercials, and has worked on brands such as Johnson’s Baby, Stayfree, Cadbury Eclairs, Cadbury Five Star, Oberoi Hotels, Asian Paints, Sunlight, Comfort, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, Fair & Lovely and Pepsodent for Unilever. In her most recent role, her portfolio included GlaxoSmithKline, ITC, Unilever, Godrej, and many other brands.

Sen has been ranked among the 20 most creative people in Asia, and has worked on campaigns that have won numerous metals across the world including at Cannes, Clio and Spikes Asia. Her recent wins include a gold, silver, bronze, finalist at AdFest; gold, finalists & merit awards at One Show; gold, finalist at Cannes, gold at Clio; Grand Prix, gold, silver at Spikes Asia, etc. The campaigns that are close to her heart include sunsilkgangofgirls.com, campaigns for Aditya Birla Financial and the Lux Abhi-Ash commercial.

The Mumbai office of Wunderman Thompson (the erstwhile J Walter Thompson) has won over 40 metals at Goafest 2014 and 57 in 2015 including the Grand Prix under her creative leadership. Over the years she has sat on the jury of several advertising festivals in India and abroad, including Cannes and D&AD. In 2015, she had the pleasure of being the only Asian on the inaugural Glass Jury at Cannes, which honours gender diversity in communication.

As per her LinkedIn profile, a student of English literature and life, and having worked on global brands, Sen believes that an idea and insight can cut across geographies and connect with culture. Her ability to simplify things and find a human connection is what makes her approach to communication relevant and meaningful.

November 2, 2022
This Daughters’ Day, Stayfree urges families to break taboos around periods

MUMBAI: India still lags behind when it comes to holding conversations about menstrual periods. According to Unicef, nearly 71 per cent of adolescent girls have no idea about periods even today. In most homes, mothers usually are the primary source of information for young girls, while fathers somehow are never a part of this crucial conversation with their daughters.

This Daughters’ Day sanitary napkin brand Stayfree set out to bridge this gap between fathers and daughters. The brand has launched a new campaign that urges fathers to be involved in period conversations with their daughters.

The hygiene brand called several father-daughter duos for auditions for a Daughters’ Day ad. However, none of them knew that the ad was for Stayfree. When the script was handed out to them, they fumbled, stammered, and stuttered their way through the subject of periods. But with each take, the conversations got easier – until at some point they didn’t need the script at all. It stopped being an audition and became a conversation between the parent and child instead.

“My mom spoke to me about my periods. That’s how it has been for generations. As part of Stayfree’s agenda to normalise periods, we realised that as long as just moms were speaking about the subject, we’d never achieve what we set out to do,” said DDB Mudra creative head – West, Pallavi Chakravarti. “But making dads have “the talk” with their daughters is easier said than done. So, we didn’t convince them. We just put them in a situation where they’d have to get over their apprehensions and get on with being a parent.”

The campaign builds on Stayfree’s award-winning campaign from 2020 – ‘It’s just a Period’, and brings to light the discomfort fathers feel in having a conversation on menstrual periods with their daughters.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Division, India vice president Marketing, Manoj Gadgil said, “Stayfree has always stood up for enabling a healthy relationship between a girl and her periods – be it through our products or thought-provoking campaigns. Normalising period conversations is core to what Stayfree stands for and through our new Daughter’s Day Campaign we encourage parents and fathers, in particular, to let go of the awkwardness and have a conversation with their daughters on menstrual periods, one frank chat at a time.”

September 28, 2021

Niine to disrupt sanitary market with affordable pads

MUMBAI: It may seem unlikely to many that a monthly phenomenon, which lasts for five days on an average, could fuel a billion dollar market. But, brace yourself, as the global feminine hygiene products market is expected to grow over $36 billion in the next six years.

However, India only comprises 1.5 per cent of this market that largely sells sanitary napkins while products like tampons and menstrual cups are still alien here. The sanitary napkin market is really small at the moment with Whisper and Stayfree dominating the market with 50 per cent and 35 per cent market share respectively.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar tried starting a conversation about the need to use sanitary pads in his movie Padman but that didn’t seem to move a needle! Awards and Box office collection don’t often lead to awareness.

To state some facts, on an average, India has over 35,50,00,000 menstruating women and girls in India of which 71 per cent have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period.

The use of sanitary napkins in India is still low as only 18 per cent female use sanitary napkins and 88 per cent predominantly use alternatives such as an old cloth, rags, hay, sand or ash.

Padman, inspired by Tamil Nadu’s Arunachalam Murugananthanam, who pioneered low-cost sanitary napkins for women, led to the launch of Niine sanitary napkins in partnership with Uttar Pradesh government. With an initial investment of Rs 80 crore, the company manufactures and sells sanitary pads in rural India for as low as Rs 25 for seven pads which is the lowest in India.

With only one manufacturing unit in Gorakhpur, UP, the company is optimistic to overthrow the market leaders in tier II and tier III towns with its low cost product. This may actually come true as the price point of market leaders Whisper and Stayfree products is still higher at Rs 30 for 7 pads.

Cost of Menstruation In India

Brand	Price Per Pack Of 7	Quantity Per Cycle	Monthly (1 Cycle)	1 Year (12 Cycles)	5 Years (60 Cycles)	Lifetime (420 Cycles)
NIINE	Rs 25	10 Pads	Rs 35	Rs 420	Rs 2,135	Rs 14,700
Whisper	Rs 29	10 Pads	Rs 40	Rs 480	Rs 2,400	Rs 16,800
StayFree	Rs 30	10 pads	Rs 43	Rs 516	Rs 2,580	Rs 18,060

Our neighbouring country, China, has the same population as India (over 1.35 Billion) but its sanitary napkin market is worth Rs 6,500 crore annually whereas India stands at only Rs 4,000 crore. Since only 18 per cent female uses sanitary napkins in India, the scope here is humongous.

Even though the market penetration is quite low in India, the industry has been growing at a steady 25 per cent Y-O-Y and Nine aims to become a Rs 5,000 crore brand in the next five years.

The name Niine comes from nine months of pregnancy every woman is likely to go through.

One of the biggest drawbacks of sanitary pads and the reason why women (especially in smaller towns) refrain from using pads and would rather use cloth or ash is disposal. Sanitary pads usually don’t come with a disposable bag and throwing it away just by itself or wrapped in a paper is inconvenient and often embarrassing. Manufacturers don’t include disposable bags as it comes as an extra cost for them. Niine pads claim to have addressed the issue of disposable bags and come with seven disposable bags.

Even though the company was launched only in May 2018, founder Amar Tulsiyan expects to capture10-15 per cent of the market share by 2021 and is on track with a projection of Rs 240 crore sales by 2020.

The company started its first phase of operations in Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Delhi, NCR and West Bengal and wants to cover the rest of North and South India in the second phase of distribution. Niine products are also available on e-commerce website Amazon along with modern trade outlets like Big Bazaar. It is also negotiating with retail outlet Spencers.

While Nine fulfils the 3Ps of marketing, the fourth “P” is the most crucial one – promotion. Promotion is nothing else but creating awareness about your product. But how does one create awareness in smaller towns where mobile penetration is still abysmal and television ads don’t work. Solution? Word of mouth and free samples! The company has tied up with several gynaecologists and doctors to create awareness about the product and hygienic sanitary pads along with school seminars and sessions.

Additionally, the brand will launch a dedicated mobile app to track periods. Tulsiyan said, “We will develop a mobile app for period tracker in English, Hindi and other regional languages along with a blog on information about periods and cures for period pain. This will help us in better customer engagement.”

Since fluffy pads capture 70 per cent of the market in India, it will be the company’s core focus for the next few years. The company will also launch its premium product ultra thin napkins by October 2018 to target the urban consumer.

With competition from local vendors and multinational players like Whisper and Stayfree, Niine will really have to up its ante to make a dent in the market.

September 19, 2018