real life

Everything we love about the most hated ad in Australia right now.

Last month Libra bagged itself an Australian first, sending an ad out into the universe that *shock horror* showed actual blood instead of unrealistic blue gel, or our personal favourite glitter in an attempt to break the stigma around periods.

But while we fist-pumped our colleagues while watching the ad here at Mamamia, turns out at least 600 fellow Australians felt so enraged they decided to pen a complaint letter to the national advertising regulator, Ad Standards.

Here’s the ad if you missed it. Post continues after video.

Video by Libra

“Showing girls bleeding is wrong at any time of the day,” one wrote.

“As a civilised person, I feel like I want to throw up as I don’t want to see menstrual blood… I am sickened and disgusted,” said another.

“It is extremely offensive and inappropriate to show young teenage girls, between the ages of 12 to 16 getting their period, with blood dripping down their leg and of them peeling off a period stained pad from their underwear,” a third complaint read.

“It appeals to paedophiles to see young girls in this manner and is exposing to young females and extremely dangerous for young girls,” said yet another mind-boggling comment.

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Because all of our periods look like sparkles and/or are blue. *rolls eyes*. Image: Getty.

But despite Libra's #bloodnormal campaign racking up the title of most complained about ad of 2019 thus far, the national advertising regulator has thankfully seen common sense and dismissed every single damn one of them.

Here are all of the things we abso-freaking-loved about Libra's #bloodnormal ad.

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1. It made young teenagers feel normal.

The average age a girl gets her first ever period is 12. To some, it's scary, embarrassing and gross. Well, that's what you think when you're 12 and have been socialised into a community that makes you feel that way.

Don't know about you, but I remember crying when I first got my period because I thought I was disgusting. How bloody sad is that.

Libra's #bloodnormal campaign was the refreshingly normal teenage experience young girls should be exposed to daily. Blue gel, sparkles, flowers...these are all just ways to show girls that they should be embarrassed about the normal bodily function they're experiencing.

Teenagers need to be watching teenagers.
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The fact that some complainers thought the ad would appeal to paedophiles is the most ridiculous remark, and the fact that showing tween girls on screen in this context was apparently "disgusting" is equally as ridiculous.

It's about time we started normalising menstruation. I am so relieved there were young girls in this ad, to help other young girls feel seen.

2. Men were involved, and there was not a scrunched up nose in sight.

The ad includes a scene where a man wanders up to the sanitary items in a supermarket and grabs a pack of pads off the shelf. He saunters over to the checkout and pays... normally. There's no trying to act discreet, or any inkling of embarrassment on the man's face.

He buys the damn pads the way he should... like it's any other item.

3. There was openness and realness. 

Yes to the woman standing up at the dinner party and asking if anyone has a pad.

Yes to depicting women just doing normal women things while on their period - working, having a birthday party, having sex.

Because period sex is just sex.
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Yes to showing a teenager removing a pad. I would have killed to see something like this when I was young. In fact, I didn't even realise that this is something I've never really seen done on screen before until I watched this ad.

Yes to showing blood in the shower. If the depiction of this was "vulgar" as some complainers seem to think, they obviously haven't been consuming any news/TV/magazines/social media of late.

It was relatable, it made things normal, and it was exactly what we should be seeing on prime time TV.

4. It was red.

I said it before and I will say it again. Period blood is not blue. Let's stop pretending it is.

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5. It validated periods as a legitimate reason for calling in sick.

A period is the literal shedding of your uterus lining, and unsurprisingly that bloody hurts sometimes - especially if you've got the added struggle of endometriosis.

This ad made it normal for period pain to be a legitimate reason to call in sick and even went as far as to pop it in the out of office.

Future, is that you calling?

Libra out of office.
This shouldn't be squirm inducing. It should be normal.

6. It asked the important questions.

"Why is it considered unacceptable to show period blood?"

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"Periods are normal, showing them should be too."

libra still
Um, yes, why is that please?

Um, yes. The only way to break the taboo for the young women of today is to challenge these questions and hurl them out the window at a very fast speed.

The fact that in 2019 we can show blood when it's linked to violence on TV but we can't show a period soaked pad is what's gross.