Tampax has decided not to appeal a decision to ban one of its advertisements from Irish television.
The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) banned the ad, which features two women discussing the correct use of tampons, after receiving complaints from viewers.
The decision caused widespread anger and Newstalk presenter Ciara Kelly launched her #StopTheShame protest in response.
Thousands of tampons sent to Newstalk as part of Ciara Kelly’s ‘Stop the Shame’ campaign. Image: Rory Walsh/NewstalkIn a statement this afternoon, the ASAI said Tampax owner Procter & Gamble had informed it that it would not be appealing the decision.
It means the ad remains banned in its current form.
The ASAI said the company was free to re-publish if the ad is amended to bring it into compliance with the advertising code.
“We acknowledge that there has been a lot of commentary on the ruling and would like to reiterate that the ASAI fully supports the advertising of all product sectors, including tampons and other sanitary products, in any media or on any platform,” it said.
“Awareness, education and informational ads are all totally acceptable as long as they are compliant with the Code.
“Each ad is judged on its own particular merits, taking account of the content and the context.”
A representative from homeless Period Ireland picks up 2,000 more tampons as part of Ciara Kelly’s ‘Stop the Shame’ protest, 14-05-2020. Image: Rory Walsh/NewstalkThe #StopTheShame campaign saw Ciara calling on listeners to send in boxes of tampons for her to personally deliver to the ASAI offices in protest.
In all, Newstalk listeners sent in 15,000 tampons as part of the campaign, which Ciara later donated to period poverty charity, Homeless Period Ireland.
