Procter & Gamble, noting the nationwide tampon shortage, blames comedian Amy Schumer’s ads for the surge in demand for their product.
P&G makes Tampax, the #1 selling brand of tampons in America. Schumer’s 2020 ad campaign featured her as a tampon supplier helping women get tampons.
“Retail sales growth has exploded since the ad campaign,” spokeswoman Cheri McMaster told TIME.
“P&G said in its recent conference call that it still has problems sourcing raw materials for feminine care products, getting them to places where they’re needed and getting products on trucks to retailers,” TIME added.
“To put it bluntly, tampons are almost impossible to find,” explained radio host Michelle Wolfe. “I would say it’s been like this for a good six months.”
“Amazon sellers took advantage of the shortage; in January, a box of 18 Tampax cost $114, about $6 more — per tampon — than what women typically pay,” TIME explained.
Thyme Sullivan, the CEO and co-founder of The Organic Project, which makes tampons in Europe, said shipping tampons to the US has become 300% more expensive since last year.
“Amazon is sold out of almost every brand and type, especially the most popular brands,” Business Insider reported in March of the tampon shortage. “Depending on the product, Amazon promises delivery within 4 to 5 days up to several weeks. Other items make no promises of delivery date at all, just say ‘currently unavailable’.”
“We have thousands of PG employees working around the clock to continue to serve consumers as many of our products play an important role in maintaining healthy habits and a healthy home environment, both of which are vital at this time are,” a P&G spokesman said in March. “We maximize production and distribution capacity wherever possible to ensure we can get products to as many consumers as quickly as possible. We are taking the right steps to protect our workplaces through proper social distancing and work-from-home protocols.”
Melissa Suk, vice president of North America Tampax and Always for P&G, saw Schumer’s 2019 Netflix special and thought an ad campaign starring Schumer would work, Ad Age reported.
“We really wanted to normalize things by making period and tampon talk as normal as periods,” Suk said. “There’s a lot of taboos that really prevent people from asking the right questions, and a lot of misconceptions when it comes to educating yourself about your body, your period, and how you use tampons. We knew that we would only be successful with humor. Frankly, in our category, many celebrities may not be interested in talking about tampons or periods.”
Schumer’s ad campaign, which educated women about using tampons and the different sizes available, included titles such as “What’s Your Combo? Tampon Time with Amy Schumer, How to Insert a Tampon: Tampon Time with Amy Schumer, and Let’s Talk It: Tampon Time with Amy Schumer.
The campaign was created by Publicis Groupe, MSL and Schumer with the comedian’s comedy writing team and directed by Hungryman’s Kathy Fusco.