Click here for a story about possibly the worst ad campaign ever. Always.¹

All right, it’s probably not the worst ad campaign ever, but it’s one of the few that makes me want to find the “creative” who came up with it and teach him/her something about life. I saw it on the bus today, three colourful panels, each with an inane comfort saying that was so forgettable that I can’t recall the one I tried to remember (something about cookies in a desk and eating them — you know, one of those things you shouldn’t do when you have PMS because it makes the symptoms worse). But the tagline is the killer:

Have a happy period. Always.

I started having my period at 11-1/2 years old and continue to have them in my mid-40s. They were painful from the get-go, and in my mid-20s I developed PMS, which has worsened every year since. My period is a time when I feel heavy, crampy, exhausted, depressed, and sick of life. It’s not me; it’s a trick of hormones and physiology that I don’t have much control over. The moment my period is over I feel renewed and refreshed, like someone who’s gotten their life back.

There’s nothing “happy” about my period except that blessed day each month when it ends.

And the brand of napkin or tampon I use simply ain’t going to make a difference.

To P&G and their ad agency: I have some thoughts about “happy periods.” Call me.

¹ Link removed due to story disappearance. But you can read another woman’s reaction to the “Have a Happy Period” campaign for Always here.