Bonds and Special Group create Bonds Cheer Bleeders for Bloody Comfy Period Undies
Bonds and Special Group Australia have launched Bonds’ latest Bloody Comfy Period Undies campaign, ‘Cheer Bleeders’ featuring a specially created cheer team dedicated to making all Australians who menstruate feel more empowered before, after and during their period.
The integrated campaign showcases the Bonds’ Cheer Bleeders wearing Bloody Comfy Period Undies as they cheer about different aspects of periods using the tagline ‘Cheer through the Bleed’. The cheers are raw, humorous and bloody honest.
‘Cheerbleeders’ aims to change the uncomfortable experience many Australians still feel when getting their period, with many taking time out from school, sport and other activities due to discomfort, teasing and fears of embarrassment. Instead, Bonds strives to show people that you don’t have to follow the conventional rules around periods. It’s your period on your terms.
Says Luke Thompson, creative director at Special Group: “Bonds’ mission is centred around making the world a more comfortable place for everyone and there has never been more opportunity to do this than when it comes to young Aussies and the cultural norms around periods. The Cheer Bleeders do just that by cheering proudly and positively about periods and everything around them. They also hero Bloody Comfy Period Undies with a fresh voice that’ll appeal to teens in the channels they use.”
Says Kedda Ghazarian, marketing manager, Bonds: “Cheer Bleeders is the next exciting installment on our Bloody Comfy Period Undies journey, following our launch of the category-breaking innovation in 2020. We want to show young Aussies everywhere, that you can be just as active, just as confident and just as comfy when you have your period as when you don’t. No period should hold anyone back. Special Group have developed a campaign with the confidence and attitude to match.”
All the integrated film assets across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube were shot by director Leilani Croucher and the Revolver team. This even included creating bespoke content with personalised cheers for Tik-Tokkers all across Australia and New Zealand who use #Periodtok, to playfully respond to period-related questions and previously posted videos.
Client: Bonds Australia
Head of Marketing: Kelly McBride
Marketing Manager: Kedda Ghazarian
Brand Manager: Amanda Varbaro
Creative Agency: Special Group Australia
Founding Partners: Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde
Strategy Partner: Rebecca Stambanis
CCO & Partners: Julian Schreiber & Tom Martin
Creative Directors: Luke Thompson & Toby Moore
Creatives: Cat Williams & Jessica Roberts
Designer: Maggie Webster
General Manager: Paige Prettyman
Business Director: Emma Salmon
Business Manager: Timmi Tsapaliaris
Senior Integrated Producer: Sophie Simmons
Production Company: Revolver
Director: Leilani Croucher
MD / Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie
Executive Producer: Pip Smart
Producer: Alexandra Taussig
Director of Photography: Sam Chiplin
Post Production House: Glue Society
Offline Editor: Scott Stirling
Colourist: Scott Stirling
Online Editor: Viv Baker
Music + Sound: Otis Studios
Stills
Photographer: Alexandrena Parker
Retouching: Visual Thing
Media agency: OMD
Business Director: Laura Nathan
Strategist: Susie Wall
Account Director: Camilla Wallace
Account Manager: Michael Gregory
Account Executive: Liam Breust
Trading Director: Sam Hey
Trader: Sabrina Ranasinghe
Programmatic Trader: Luke Jervis
69 Comments
That’s the worst comped mockup I’ve ever seen
And I’ve seen it a lot because that’s one of the popular ones on Creative Market
But there’s zero attempt here to even try to make this look plausible.
Did you have an OOH campaign or not? If not don’t make such a poor attempt at fooling people into thinking you did
Onya, Cat and Jess.
Cheergirls – how progressive ? fail
Kinda agree, but what other active girl/woman-centred activity can you think of which is performed in underwear? Possibly gymnastics is all I can think of. But ‘cheer bleeders’ has a strong/proud ring to it.
this sucks
yuk.
Said no woman ever.
Tell me about the product. Its a great product and watching this i dont even know what its about.
Epic fail in an area real progression is being made.
‘Cheer Through the bleed??’ I dont think this is going to go down well.
Love this ad. So fun, looks and sounds great, the cheers are fantastic, and it shows off the undies. Great work.
Love it!! We could all use a squad to cheer us on.
Was this written by Luke and Toby? It feels like it.
HA HA HA – nice astroturfing Special.
I think this is a bloody triumph!
Love the take on a menstrual product and getting girls to embrace the cycle. Someone finally cheering some home truths!
Great platform idea. Truly integrated, looks cool and is such a fun way to showcase the product.
#bloodybulletproof if you ask me.
When do we the PJarmie Dribles campaign for men?
Great idea – sends a strong message that girls/women “can be just as active, just as confident and just as comfy when you have your period as when you don’t” and be proud of it…
You must be very fun at parties
Please stop cheering at me while I’m curled up in pain from my cramps. Please stop cheering at me while I get headspins whenever I stand up during my period. Please stop cheering at me while I pay hundred of dollars to a specialist who still hasn’t been able to fix my abnormally heavy periods. Please stop cheering me on while I get yet another iron infusion.
Just…sell me a product I probably can’t use anyway in a much more quiet manner, thanks.
I second this – what about the millions of women with PCOS or endo who physically cannot “cheer through the bleed”?
Thankfully we(Leos) finished on a high with Bonds Unplugged to launch Bloody Comfy Undies – an award winning authentic idea which actually drove engagement.
It’s not my uterus that’s bleeding, it’s my ears. Make it stop. It’s also very American for such an iconic Australian brand.
How could you follow up Unplugged with this?
I had to watch this a few times because I had no idea what was being advertised.
Massive fail.
The recent work for period undies and products has totally changed the narrative. It’s honest and has opened the conversation to what women experience, as varied as it may be. It’s (thankfully) moving away from “conquer everything with [insert brand name]” and instead doing whatever you need to do to get through that average time of the month. This campaign is a step backwards. No woman wants to watch cheerleaders cheering about periods and period undies. It’s irritating as all hell. Having two men as the CDs is probably the main reason this campaign is so tone deaf. Should have let the legendary female creatives run this one and sat back boys. You’re not needed here.
Cheer is so fun. So, why is the campaign film so laboured?
Yeah, blame the men.
It’s just the way this comes across that makes it hard to like.
It’s too shouty, the cheers aren’t written well enough maybe? Dunno, but something is off.
Shame as it’s a topic that could have a lot to give.
PS, you dont need to be a women to write good ads for women and vice versa.
I appreciate that this is fun and memorable but it tells me nothing about the product. I don’t need someone to cheer me through my pain, I need a product that’s gonna help me through it with minimal fuss
Don’t know why some people having difficult periods makes this ad rub them the wrong way. I don’t see them looking to define all period experiences. It’s fun, it’s young, it’s a good play on words. Periods can be crap but women actually can have enjoy themselves/their life on their period, unfortunately life doesn’t stop when you start bleeding. I’d rather cheer through the bleed than cry through it!
How many women want to cheer through their bleeds???
Where’s my copywriting credit?
I’m so glad I survived Scomo’s bushfires and COVID-19 to witness the absolute pinnacle of genital-based advertising from Bonds. First Ballvertising then Boobvertising and now Thisvertising. The entire strategy is reminiscent of someone with genital Tourettes syndrome.
Sparky Polastri, Coreographer.
This film isn’t very good
I have felt annoyed about this all day.
This is possibly the most grating ad. I do not need someone shouting at me and telling me to just get on with bleeding, when at times it can be one of the most painful things to deal with for many. How did it get passed the 1st round?
It tells me nothing much about the product, and I am pretty sure the resonance with women would be very low.
It feels really off the mark for both the category and Bonds, what a shame. Other brands have paved such a path forward lately, this is a step backwards on so many levels.
How did the ad pre test? I can’t assume well, unless it was tested amongst perhaps, and this is reaching, only men.
Try again.
What a little cesspool of comments this is. From the little cesspool backwater.
Worst client company to work for. Ever. Its been a few years but Ive never bloody seen more incompetence in my life.I feel blessed to have rid Bonds from my life.
Is anyone else offended? Being fed a message that we have to push through a period in our month where some of us are curled up in absolute pain? Looks like there may have been a few non bleeders in this creative team. #epicfail
I can’t imagine women were behind this creative. I am actually offended.
Don’t get whats offensive about this. Lots of women experience their periods differently. This happens to be an ad about women enjoying themselves. I really like it, it’s catchy and memorable.
No idea how this got through after the great start with Unplugged. No-one cheers for a period. Ever. Unless you’re late and don’t want to be pregnant. Now there’s an angle…
The fact other brands have recently done such a brilliant job championing periods only serves to highlight how piss-poor this effort is.
If people thought this was a great campaign, the woman working on this would be praised. Seeing that people are not liking it, they are blaming the men. Why has it become a gender thing? I’m sure all the woman who have worked on this are super proud. Blaming the men is actually completely disrespectful to all the woman who worked really hard to make this happen. I personally like it. Feels different. Not sure if it will work but I like the confident tone. Well done for pushing the Bonds boundaries.
Not everything needs to be a gender thing people.
Other than Uber Eats, what exactly have Special done well at?
Their Bonds work is a massive fail.
Periods are honestly shit. A shouty campaign telling me to get through it is so patronising. And I don’t even know what this product does.
Gone in a year. The product, that is, the ads will be gone much sooner.
A lot of people on this blog showing their age
Good fun concept but twee, retro, tumblr, colour stuff is so high school throw away trend that i feel it diminishes the cause.
Lame. Try again.
I really like it. Anyone in their target market already knows what period underwear are and how they work. Agree with the above, I think it’s fun and memorable.
Amazing ,you can put an age to a comment.So much guess work stereotyping going on here.
It’s the insight, you clown. It’s missing. What the Jesus this got to do with age? Now, maybe you are showing yours?
is a pun.
thoughts on Fallout 76?
I think FO76 has gotten better since they added the NPC’s but not being able to share quests makes it a little difficult to co-op.
This is great. Cheer Bleeders. Awesome. Would have been an easy sell into the CDs and CCOs.
Go team.
This has got to stop. Period.
The only thing you are showing is unmanaged anger.
“Cheer through the bleed” is a great line that acknowledges the fact many women feel we have to ‘push through’ when it comes to our periods. The art direction and script is fun, memorable and eye-catching. But most of all we love the representation – it’s diverse and unlike many ads targeted at women, it’s not fatphobic. Well done to all.
Agree agree agree! Life goes on, we do have to keep living even when we get our period.
What a pathetic advert. What cretin thought this up?
@Really LOL? Guesswork and stereotyping is the fundamental bed of advertising and if you don’t get that….then LOL
…periods…
Worst period campaign since the U Brand Beaver!
Obviously the days of clever, yet discrete, advertising campaigns are over!
Seriously Bonds, you’ve lost me as a customer!
Bleeders? You mean women and girls? How offensive.
I just saw the new Bonds underwear ad. Didn’t like it at all. Definitely cringe worthy !!
I understand the concept that you are trying to represent, bring periods and period products more to light, without hiding them.
I also really appreciate Bonds for bringing this product into being, and wish it was around when I started my periods.
But, many women and curled up in pain when we have our periods. It is not that we don’t want to do things we normally do, it is that we cannot get out of bed due to the pain.
Having a product that assists mopping up the blood is a great start. Doing high kicks and making human pyramids, is out of reach to many women.
I think it would have been useful to have at least one cheer bleeder at home in bed.
I wish I could have cheered while bleeding, but I usually had to spend at least one day home in bed, unlike one of my friends who spends a week in bed EVERY period.
What really offends me however, is that in the print advertising here on this site, you never once use the word “woman” and only use Australian and people.
I love being a woman. I am proud to have my period and be able to have babies.
I am extremely offended that you do not use the word “woman” in the print media, as I feel like you want to rub women out of existence.
Being a woman is challenging, especially the pain of periods, and having babies, but we have be oppressed for so long, it would be nice to be celebrated. It would be nice if we could be proud of our periods as women.
Wow. You guys just created another slur for women. Now we get to be “Bleeders”? Really?
Without periods none of us would be here. They are a natural, normal part of human existence, not a cheerleading slogan.
And if you understood anything at all about periods you wouldn’t be cheering either.
I’m a young female who rarely feels the need to comment, but DAMMM this ad got it wrong. Any woman knows that periods suck and this ad screams toxic positivity. It feels patronising and shows verily little empathy towards the female experience. Too many males uptop who clearly don’t understand how shit periods can be. Massive fail.