Kotex restores ‘Art’s Missing Period’ in new campaign by DAVID London + Ogilvy Singapore

Kotex is confronting long-standing stigma around menstruation with ‘Art’s Missing Period’, a new global campaign created in partnership with DAVID London and Ogilvy Singapore.

The campaign highlights a cultural blind spot in the art world: while blood has been widely depicted across centuries of artistic expression, from violence to sacrifice, one form has remained largely absent from public view: period blood.

Kotex sets out to challenge that imbalance by bringing previously censored or rejected works into the spotlight. Spanning pieces from as far back as 35,000 BCE through to contemporary art removed from galleries for being “too sensitive,” the initiative aims to reframe how menstruation is represented and accepted in culture.

At the heart of the idea is a simple belief: periods do not hold people back, but hiding them does. By restoring visibility to these works, the campaign seeks to shift both perception and conversation.

“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 beyond traditional advertising into a broader cultural rollout. This includes a short documentary by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kathryn Everett, narrated by journalist and producer Noor Tagouri, exploring why depictions of violent blood are accepted while menstrual blood remains taboo. View below.

Outdoor activations feature mobile billboards and wild postings placed outside major museums including the Guggenheim, The Met, the Whitney Museum and MoMA, effectively turning the streets into an open gallery. Each installation includes QR codes directing audiences to a virtual gallery showcasing more than 40 period-themed artworks, supporting artists and institutions that platform such work.

The virtual exhibition is now live for one year from April 6, 2026. View the gallery here.

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
Global Creative & Design
Patricia Corsi: Chief Growth Officer
Luiz Sanches: Global Chief Creative & Design Officer
Denis Kakazu: Senior Director, Global Creative & Design
Gustavo Sarkis: Global Creative Lead
Katie Nikolaus: Director, Global Marketing and Partnerships
Jen Kasmarick: Director, Global Content and Production
Sarah Paulsen: Senior Director, Global Marketing
Leandro Crispin: Senior Design Leader, Global Design

KCNA Marketing
Katie Moran, President Adult & Feminine Care
Nicole Pawlukowsky, VP Marketing Feminine Care
Joanna Moy, Content & Connections Leader Feminine Care
Annie Griffin, Digital Activation Leader Feminine Care

WPP Production
Tania Sethi: Chief Production Officer, Americas
James Brook-Partridge: Head of Production
Katharine Cowell: Executive Producer
Keri Catanzano: Senior Business Affairs Manager
Tejaswita Desai: Business Affairs Manager
Stephen Bernstein: Global Head of Business AffairsMattia Capasso: Production assistant
Annika Gustavsson: Executive Post Producer
Simon Hargood, Ben Mullins: Additional Editor
Huw Caddy: Online Editor
Chris Barralet: VFX artist
Steve Wasas, Tom Brady: Motion Graphics Supervisor
Edwin Collins, Ben Rogers: Colourist
Jason Martine, Andrew Gould: CGI
Mark Beardall, Ksenia Usenko: Online/ VFX

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Object & Animal Production
Kathryn Everett: Director
Dom Thomas: Executive Producer
Serafima Kutsenko: Producer
Will Atherton: Director of Photography
Brydie O’Connor: Archival Producer
Elisabetta Garletti: Contributor Researcher
Harriet Loffler: Contributor Research Consultant
Jessie Findlay: Script Writer
Collin Kriner: Offline Editor
Pam Autuori: Composer
Jared Oliff-Lieberman, Jamie Winslow, John Robert Horville, Bryan Mitchell, Joe Dimanche, Tim Colao, Toby
Norman: Production
Sound Mixer (US unit): Eric Ledet, Joe Maggi, Tamás Jeszenszky
Mia Goff, Sophie Ono, Gaayatri Dhawan: HMU Artist
Bohdan Rohulskyi: B-Roll Camera Operator
Matt Hampton: Minibus Driver
Laura Hegarty, Lauren Skillen: Head of Production
Garytt Poirier, Michelle Kinsler: Finance & Operations
Grace Kahaki Munthali: Managing Partner
Philippe Bresson: Creative Director / Producer

750 mph – Sound
Ella Venvell: Producer Sound studio 750mph
Giselle Hall: Sound Engineer 750mph

Contributors
Noor Tagouri: Journalist
Farah Ahamed: Writer
Poulomi Basu: Artist
Akira Crosby: Artist
Dr Camilla Power: Anthropologist, UCL
Dr Alana Harris: Professor of Gender and Modern Religious History
Stephanie Bickford-Smith: designer