Kotex restores “Art’s Missing Period,” by bringing creative works previously deemed “too sensitive to view” to the public. The brand is standing up against the stigma that perpetuates censorship around periods by putting it on display in this new campaign, created in partnership with DAVID London and Ogilvy Singapore.
For centuries, when art has featured blood, it has often been displayed in acts of violence, and it is never too sensitive for viewing. Blood has flowed freely across canvases, been carved into sculptures, and immortalized in masterpieces. All types of bloodshed are featured. Except one: period blood.
Kotex recognizes periods do not hold us back, but hiding them does. “Art’s Missing Period” sets out to rewrite that history by spotlighting art from around the world, including works dating back as far as 35,000 BCE and more contemporary pieces rejected by galleries and removed from public view.
“Visibility shapes culture, and we set out to change both,” said Genevieve Gransden, Executive Creative Director at DAVID London. “This is not just a campaign. It is a restoration of voices, narrative and art that deserves to be seen,” added Selma Ahmed, Executive Creative Director at DAVID London.
The campaign extends into a broad, cultural rollout, including:
- A short documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmaker, Kathryn Everett, narrated by award-winning journalist and producer, Noor Tagouri, which questions why society accepts blood depicting violence but not the blood of life and creation, and tells the stories of artists who have faced period stigma firsthand
- Out of home mobile billboard and wild postings placed outside museums, including the Guggenheim, MET, Whitney Museum, MOMA and more, bringing the work directly to the doorstep of the art world and turning the streets into an unmissable gallery (View here. Immersive experience on mobile)
- QR codes on all out-of-home placements directing audiences to a virtual gallery that exhibits over 40 pieces of period-themed art and supports artists, galleries and exhibitions that host these works – on display for one year beginning April 6, 2026 at virtualgallery.com/kotexartsmissingperiod
CREDITS
Agency: DAVID London & Ogilvy Singapore
Global CCO & Partner: Pancho Cassis
CCO Ogilvy Singapore: Nicolas Courant
Global COO: Sylvia Panico
North America Managing Director: Carolina Vieira
North America Chief Creative Officer: Daniel Lobaton
Europe Managing Director & Madrid CGO: Ricardo Honegger
ECD London: Genevive Gransden, Selma Ahmed
ECD US: Lauren Varvara
ACD Ogilvy Singapore: Maggie Michella
Art Director: Camilo Jiménez (Sazky)
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Paula Vampre
Executive Strategy Director: Jeremy Davis
Group Strategy Director: James Mitchell
Executive Director PMO: Jeremy Gelade
Executive Business Lead/Head of Account: Mariana D’ Aprile
Account Director: Irene Leon
Account Supervisor: Carolina Villareal
Executive Producer: Katharine Cowell
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Keri Rommel
Global PR & Communications Director: Sandra Azedo
Client: Kimberly-Clark
Chief Growth Officer: Patricia Corsi
Global Chief Creative & Design Officer: Luiz Sanches
Senior Director, Global Creative & Design: Denis Kakazu
Global Creative Lead: Gustavo Sarkis
Director, Global Marketing and Partnerships: Katie Nikolaus
Director, Global Content and Production: Jen Kasmarick
Senior Director, Global Marketing: Sarah Paulsen
Senior Design Leader, Global Design: Leandro Crispin
President Adult & Feminine Care: Katie Moran
VP Marketing Feminine Care: Nicole Pawlukowsky
Content & Connections Leader Feminine Care: Joanna Moy
Digital Activation Leader Feminine Care: Annie Griffin
WPP Production Chief Production Officer, Americas: Tania Sethi
Head of Production: James Brook-Partridge
Executive Producer: Katharine Cowell
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Keri Catanzano
Business Affairs Manager: Tejaswita Desai
Global Head of Business Affairs: Stephen Bernstein
Production Assistant: Mattia Capasso
Executive Post Producer: Annika Gustavsson
Additional Editor: Simon Hargood, Ben Mullins
Online Editor: Huw Caddy
VFX Artist: Chris Barralet
Motion Graphics Supervisor: Steve Wasas, Tom Brady
Colourist: Edwin Collins, Ben Rogers
CGI: Jason Martine, Andrew Gould
Online/VFX: Mark Beardall, Ksenia Usenko
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Object & Animal Production
Director: Kathryn Everett
Executive Producer: Dom Thomas
Producer: Serafima Kutsenko
Director of Photography: Will Atherton
Archival Producer: Brydie O’Connor
Contributor Researcher: Elisabetta Garletti
Contributor Research Consultant: Harriet Loffler
Script Writer: Jessie Findlay
Offline Editor: Collin Kriner
Composer: Pam Autuori
Production: Jared Oliff-Lieberman, Jamie Winslow, John Robert Horville, Bryan Mitchell, Joe Dimanche, Tim Colao, Toby Norman
Sound Mixer (US Unit): Eric Ledet, Joe Maggi, Tamás Jeszenszky
HMU Artist: Mia Goff, Sophie Ono, Gaayatri Dhawan
B-Roll Camera Operator: Bohdan Rohulskyi
Minibus Driver: Matt Hampton
Head of Production: Laura Hegarty, Lauren Skillen
Finance & Operations: Garytt Poirier, Michelle Kinsler
Managing Partner: Grace Kahaki Munthali
Creative Director / Producer: Philippe Bresson
750 mph – Sound
Producer Sound Studio 750mph: Ella Venvell
Sound Engineer 750mph: Giselle Hall
Contributors Journalist: Noor Tagouri
Writer: Farah Ahamed
Artist: Poulomi Basu
Artist: Akira Crosby
Anthropologist, UCL: Dr Camilla Power
Professor of Gender and Modern Religious History: Dr Alana Harris
Designer: Stephanie Bickford-Smith
