As part of its ongoing efforts to destigmatize menstruation, Knix has partnered with Rethink to launch the "Sport Your Period" campaign, empowering youth and menstruators to practice the sports they love, whenever they want.
Professional athletes, including beach volleyball Olympian Brandie Wilkerson; weightlifter Jourdan Delacruz; softball player Larissa Franklin; rugby player Ilona Maher; and triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne are the faces of the campaign, which is circulating on social media through posts published by Knix and the participating athletes.
Professional athletes, including beach volleyball Olympian Brandie Wilkerson; weightlifter Jourdan Delacruz; softball player Larissa Franklin; rugby player Ilona Maher; and triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne are the faces of the campaign, which is circulating on social media through posts published by Knix and the participating athletes.
Launching as a leak-proof underwear line, Knix has always made normalizing topics like menstruation and incontinence a core part of its brand, regularly running attention grabbing campaigns like this, and this, and advertising to challenge outdated societal taboos about women's bodies, health and wellness.
This latest campaign is inspired by the fact many girls and younger menstruators will not play sports during their period over fears of leakage and embarrassment. In a release, Knix cites a 2023 women and gender report by Equality Canada which states that 31% of menstruators above the age of 13 will skip sports during their period.
An anchor video for "Sport Your Period" running on Knix's social and digital channels features Wilkerson wearing a red period on her thigh during the ongoing Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour finals. "No one should stop doing the sports they love because they are afraid that their period might be seen," said Wilkerson in a release. "That's why I am wearing a big red period for the world to see."
The red period symbolizes that the athlete is menstruating and unafraid to have it be known.“By wearing the period tape on a visible spot on your skin, you are telling the whole world that the fear of leaking will never stop you from being active, and encouraging anyone menstruating to feel the same,” wrote Knix, on a landing page for the campaign.
The video opens with a voiceover by Wilkerson, stating “let’s talk about blood in sports,” as a black and white image of a boxer with red blood splattered over her face appears on the screen. “No. This blood,” she says, as the visual changes to a black and white photo of a runner with red blood covering her crotch.
As Wilkerson is depicted in action on the sand court, her voiceover encourages the viewer to “sport your period” and participate in the campaign by showing you are menstruating while practicing the sport you love.
The video ends with a super redirecting to sportyourperiod.com and the hashtag #SportYourPeriod. The landing page features an email enabling consumers to reach out to the brand and share personal stories of how they’re sporting their own periods.
