Poise and Busy Phillips speak frankly about bladder leakage in new campaign

Dive Brief:

Kimberly-Clark's Poise brand has tapped actress Busy Philipps as a spokesperson for a new campaign intended to start conversations and reduce stigma around bladder leakage, the company revealed in a press release.
The brand wants to break the taboo and encourage discussions so that women dealing with bladder leakage can feel more comfortable addressing their issues. The campaign includes TV and print ads, which will use yellow liquid to represent urine, rather than the blue liquid common in ads for this type of product.
The brand connected with Phillips through its membership in SeeHer, the advertising industry's movement to promote portrayals of real women and girls in ads, marketing, media and entertainment. Poise will spend $1 million over the next five years to shine a light on the challenges that women face when discussing normal developments in their bodies.

Dive Insight:

With its latest marketing campaign, Poise is tapping into women's desires for more open conversations about body issues that come with giving birth and aging. According to data shared by the brand, one in three women suffer from unexpected bladder leaks. By creating a platform for more frank discussions about the topic, the brand has the potential to build loyalty among women who are looking for brands to help with challenges such as urinary incontinence.

Busy Philipps is a strong choice as a spokesperson for the brand as she has previously been vocal when female body issues are being swept under the carpet. She spoke out when postpartum brand Frida Mom was banned by ABC and the Academy from advertising during the Oscars broadcast for content they deemed too graphic, according to a report in USA Today. The ad promoted a postpartum recovery kit and in the ad a new mother deals with the stress of a newborn and her postpartum body on her return home from the hospital. The ad shows the woman's postpartum body and mesh underwear.

"I legit teared up when I just watched it," Phillips wrote on Instagram, in response to the ad. "I DO believe so strongly that the more we can NORMALIZE A WOMAN'S BODILY EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA, the better off our culture and society will be. AND YES THAT MEANS ADS TOO."

The new Poise ad follows others from brands who are looking to connect with women who want more open discussions about bodily issues. Femtech apparel company Ruby Love recently kicked off a campaign to normalize conversations about menstruation, particularly between mothers and daughters. The ad shows a character named "Period Pal" who shows up at inopportune moments as a woman reminisces about her early period memories from 1989. Last year, razor brand Billie launched a summer campaign to normalize pubic hair.