The First Moon Party is a viral online advertisement created by the feminine care company, Hello Flo.  The company sends women a monthly care package with related menstrual supplies such as tampons and other gifts and goodies, including candy.  The video offers a comical take on traditional feminine hygiene commercials, in which a pre teen is angry because she is the last of her friends to get her period, and therefore decides to fake it.  She attempts to trick her mother by painting red “cherrylicious” nail polish onto a pad, but her mother, who immediately sees through the lie, throws her daughter a surprise “first moon party.”  Grandparents, friends, and other family members arrive at the party where there are a variety of activities, including ovary (apple) bobbing, “pin the pad on the period,” and a uterus piñata.  The daughter becomes extremely mortified, learns her lesson, and is given a Hello Flo period starter kit.

discussion

What types of social pressures might have motivated the daughter to lie to her mother?

What are some of the historical and contemporary stigmas or taboos culturally associated with menstruation? How might the taboos associated with menstruation relate to stereotypes of femininity? How does this ad (and the company Hello Flo) potentially challenge such stigmas?

What tactics does the commercial use to grab viewers’ attention that other tampon commercials don’t employ? Were these more or less effective? Is this commercial effective for audiences of all genders and ages? Why?

Unlike most feminine hygiene ads, this Hello Flo spot deliberately and openly uses vocabulary associated with female anatomy and menstruation (including vagina, uterus, ovaries). Why do other feminine care commercials not use this vocabulary when it’s so central to their products? Do you often hear these terms used in other mainstream media? In what context? Did the use of these words by HelloFlo make the message more or less effective?