‘Never look at a jam donut in the same way again’: Controversial Sofy BeFresh ad cleared of fat shaming and bulling by ad watchdog
One of the most controversial ads to air this year has been cleared of fat shaming and portraying bullying after “considerable discussion” by the Ad Standards Board.
JWT Melbourne’s ad for Unicharm’s Sofy BeFresh sanitary pads has sparked a fierce storm on social media and in the international press for using a larger actress to portray a version of a woman as her ‘Period self’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKdN3G4VyoM
Across different versions of the ad the ‘Period Self’ actress is seen crying, shouting down the phone and telling someone she cannot go out as she feels “like I sat on a jam donut”.
Humor is great, especially when it comes to ads about menstruation, which is a singularly unfunny thing. Humor can help reduce stigma and embarrassment. This ad might have meant to come across as lighthearted, but it fails. It is unsophisticated and slightly offensive. It’s a ad that is full of lazy humor and stereotyped characters, and it doesn’t make me want to consume the products at all.
And yes, I’m female.
The females I know got the gag and thought it mirrored how they felt on their period.
But then maybe I know females with different self-awareness and esteem structures.
Notably, I’ve seen no constructive suggestions as to how to convey this brief in a way that would broadly cause no offence, especially to / from those who are pro-am offendees.
My female partner of ten years actually feels like this ad rings true in a lot of ways of her own period experiences.
Cue: People reading past that last bit and focussing on why I felt the need to say “partner” or how long we’ve been together. Shaming married people AND single people in the same line!
Let’s all look back fondly at the old days when period ads were all about rock climbing and wind surfing. What, now I’m shaming the non rock climbing and non wind surfing people?! Ah I give up…