Libresse Bodyform - Womb Stories (2020) 3:18 (UK)

I showed this to my teenager, and she was pretty blunt in her assessment: "What is this ad for?" she asked. "Menstrual products" I replied, and she went on: "I figured, but there are too many stories here, there's sex, there is someone losing a baby, there is someone on the floor, there is so much!" and that pretty much sums up the problem with flagship three-minute ads, individually each story here is simple enough but added together it does get a bit jumbled. They're attempting yin-and-yang pairings, with the teenager getting her first period, while a middle-aged woman experiences hot flashes. The juxtaposition of the couple having sex as their animation floats to a neon sign about not wanting children, while another couple loses a baby and their animation shows a dead garden in the womb, I find particularly tasteless.

The animations are all pretty neat looking and differ in style, and the sound bed is nice. With each story separated out into individual ads for TV airing I'm sure this will look much better. 

I appreciate all the different stories told, which I am sure every woman can find one they recognize themselves in. I recognize the pain of the endometriosis sufferer in this ad, the laparoscopic scars, and the lying on the bathroom floor in pain. And I'm pretty sure every woman ever has at one point or another had the "new underwear alert" situation happen. Some "#wombstories" are universal. We've come a long way, baby, far away from the menstruation huts.

Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

Senior Producer: Edwina Dennison

Executive Creative Directors and Creative Team: Nadja Lossgott & Nicholas
Hulley Creative Directors: Toby Allen and Jim Hilson

Account Team: Sara Abaza, Sarah Hore-Lacy & Helen Limbrey

Strategists: Margaux Revol, Beatrice Farmelo

Assistant Producer: Lucia Fioravanti

Art Producer: Fiona Bailey

Production Company: Chelsea Pictures Director: Nisha Ganatra
President/Executive Producer: Lisa Mehling Senior Producer: Shanah Blevins

Director of Photography: Natasha Braier Design: Mario Kerkstra

Photographer: Adam Hinton

Edit: Trim Editor: Elise Butt

Clients: Tanja Grubner, Martina Poulopati, Luciana De Azevedo Lara

Post Production: Framestore

Animation Creative Director: Sharon Lock Design Senior Producer: Niamh O’Donohoe VFX producer: Emma Cook

Colourist: Simon Bourne

Lead Comp: Tri Do

Sound Design: 750mph Sound Engineer: Sam Ashwell