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Tampons with parachutes being dropped on Dutch beaches

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Jul 8th 2009 at 12:00PM

Bet that headline grabbed your attention? Good. Imagine lying on the beach enjoying the summer sun, and watching thousands of tampons being thrown out of a plane. You watch in amazement as a huge pink cloud of parachutes descends on the sand.

The PR stunt was the idea of tampon firm Libresse, and took place at six of the most popular Dutch beaches. The video clip is in Dutch, but I'm sure you'll get an idea of the message (and the target audience).

The tampons are not being given away just for fun, the manufacturer is trying to convince women that tampons are a "must have" in the beach gear bag. According to the PR dude, 1 in 7 women avoid the beach during "that time of the month".

Of course, the Dutch "Green Party" has already objected, and is trying to get the law changed so these promotional stunts won't be permitted in the future.

Filed under: Europe, Netherlands, Video

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Julia Schopick Jul 21st 2009 12:25PM

Although this video is absolutely brilliant, no one mentioned the environmental waste that is routinely created by MOST women -- simply by using and discarding these disposable menstrual products in the “normal” way. In other words, tampons are truly BAD for the environment!
The statistics astound. While I doubt that 100% accurate statistics exist, it is estimated that, in a woman's lifetime, she’s likely to use 15,000 sanitary pads or tampons. Put another way, she throws away 250 to 300 pounds of tampons, pads and applicators in her lifetime. And plastic tampon applicators may not biodegrade for several hundred years.

But these numbers are too large to fully imagine. To VIEW a comparison photo showing the amount of waste caused by tampon use in 1 month, 1 year, 10 years, and 40 years (one woman’s average menstruating lifetime), go the Keeper.com, the website of The Keeper, Inc., manufacturer (since 1987) of The Keeper reusable latex menstrual cup. Click on “New: Photos,” on the left side of the page. You’ll be shocked by what you see there. (HINT: A DUMP TRUCK was used to show an average lifetime use!)

By the way, I just checked on YouTube and this video, placed there 2 weeks ago, has so far garnered 146,402 views, up from 144,869 views yesterday. I have no doubt that the tons of online publicity it is getting will add to its acclaim!

How sad that companies like The Keeper, Inc. -- and other small manufacturers of environment-friendly products -- don’t have the budgets necessary to create slick videos like this one! If they did, they could REALLY change the world.

Thanks so much.
Julia Schopick
Director of Marketing
The Keeper, Inc.
www.Keeper.com