That “Midol” Commercial is Ridiculous

​You’ve seen that “Midol” commercial right? It’s the one that’s been annoying right wingers because it shows a trans man (or maybe a gender non-conforming woman or AFAB nonbinary person) having period symptoms.

I’m exhausted already.

Okay, I have no argument about the commercial showing someone with facial hair having period symptoms. Hell, I’ve got upper lip hair myself and I also get period cramps. It happens.

I just have an argument with the commercial itself.

It’s so damn cringey.

I hate the “Midol” commercial. I hate it so much that I’m starting to wonder if any women were actually involved in its making.

The whole vibe of the “Midol” commercial is all “Women are superheroes cuz we can still do our jobs and do grown-up stuff even when we have cramps.” And yeah, it’s called being an adult. It’s not just period cramps, it’s back pain and arthritis and bad allergies and chronic mental health and etc. etc. … stuff that affects both genders. Every adult who feels like crap some days still gets up and goes to work. It’s not a “Wonder Woman” thing.
​
Putting up with discomfort so we can do our jobs and put food on our tables is LITERALLY the human experience!

​Anyway, let’s get into the commercial.
​
So we open onto a woman seeing menstrual blood on her underwear and realizing that she’s started her period. And here is the first and last positive thing I’m gonna say about this commercial: I’m glad they’re showing menstrual blood. Menstruation is a normal thing women go through every month. It shouldn’t be seen as shameful. As someone who was used to that euphemistic blue dye shown in “Kotex” commercials in the ’90s it’s nice that we have progressed enough as a society to show actual menstrual blood in a commercial for menstrual products.

​Cool.
​
But then the commercial goes from matter-of-fact to cringe in a hurry.
After realizing that she’s suddenly started her period, and washing her hands at the sink, the woman has this bona-fide slo-mo hero’s entrance back into the club. It’s like she just came back after taking out an enemy tank or winning a national election.

She didn’t accomplish anything folks! She’s…. just coming back out of the bathroom after finding out she started her period. She overcame a mild annoyance! Round of applause!

“Midol” is literally applauding women for using the potty all by ourselves. Like…. can we not?
​
Then the commercial cuts to a red-haired waitress starting to get menstrual cramps while working. It’s very relatable and very understandable that “Midol” wants to market their product to women who experience cramps during work.
The waitress then turns to the camera. In a rational world, she would then talk about how “Midol” really helps give her relief so she can finish her work day.
Instead the waitress says “We’re pretty freakin’ resilient.”

​

She doesn’t say “We women are pretty freakin’ resilient” because the word “women” is now forbidden and can cause genocide. Nah. She just says “We’re pretty freakin’ resilient.”

But we all know she’s talking about women because only women are seen as so weak by society that we need to be given a trophy for accomplishing very normal adult tasks. The whole thing reeks of condescension.

Sigh.

Lemme do a dive here. Who the heck is running “Midol?” I know it’s not a woman.
​
Hmmm. So “Midol” is a subsidiary of “Bayer Pharmaceuticals.” And the person running “Bayer Pharmaceuticals” is Stefan Oelrich, who is….

​

​… not a woman.

Thought so.
​
Anyway, so the commercial goes on to show a really dark, muddy, depressing view of what it’s like to menstruate. Women are fighting a battle here folks! And the visuals alone are pretty grim. One shot shows a woman rolling around in agony on her bed while wearing a “Midol” disposable heating pad on her lower abdomen.

​That shot confused me. If anything, it showed that “Midol” products don’t even work when women use them. That woman in bed is still in agony despite using a “Midol” heating pad.

What’s going on “Midol?” Are you saying your products are useless? Do you even want to sell your products?

And then, and THEN, we get the closing shot.

This closing shot my friends, this closing shot is what made me actually burst out laughing in disbelief.
​
So we get to a shot where one woman hands another a “Midol” pill for her cramps. Again, very relatable. Y’all have to share if a woman is suddenly caught short.

​Aaaand then we get this closing shot.

​Why…. why are these women hugging like the Berlin Wall just fell? What? No!

Seriously, I have given out pads, tampons, “Tylenol,” all sorts of things to women in public restrooms who ask me if I can spare something. You do what you can. But no way in hell is anyone hugging me after I hand out a menstrual product!
​
Seriously, if you’re a strange woman who wants to hug me after I give you one of my purse tampons, please back away. My first thought will be that you’re trying to steal my wallet.

​Honestly even the tampon commercials back in the ’80s didn’t have women hugging after they gave each other tampons. When one teen girl hands another a tampon in a 1989 “Tampax” commercial, the reaction is fairly normal: A slight smile and a “thanks.” No hugs.

Women are “pretty freakin’ resilient,” yes. There is a reason why we have longer life spans than men and are statistically more likely to survive a famine. We are resilient.
​
Working through cramps and discomfort, however, and acting like we are winning a monthly battle by doing so is not a good way to showcase female resiliency. The “Midol” commercial makes women look like affirmation-seeking drama queens. And honestly unless the company is trying to cause cringe-induced cramps in viewers, “Midol” has done no one any favors.