How Essity Revolutionised Femcare Marketing with 3 Immortal Ads

If there’s one advertiser that knows what it means to make Immortal-level work, it’s Essity. Together with agency AMV BBDO, their Libresse brand (also known as Bodyform in some markets) has taken home three consecutive Immortal Awards wins. ‘Blood Normal’ in 2018; ‘Viva La Vulva’ in 2019; and ‘Womb Stories’ in 2020. Each piece of work moved the needle on the conversation around periods by tackling taboos with honesty and viscerality, breaking down tropes the category is usually associated with. Bold in ideas and crafted with utmost expertise and care, the Immortal-winning work impressed judges and set the bar on what advertising in the category can strive for.

For Luciana De Azevedo Lara, senior global brand comms manager, femcare at Essity, an Immortal win is markedly different from other awards, she notes, as she prepares to judge the world's best work on the jury for The Immortal Awards 2026.

Reflecting ahead of the September 4th entry deadline, she says, “The Immortal Awards carry so much weight for us, and for me personally. As a marketer, I aspire to work on projects and campaigns that are remarkable, that will leave a mark on society, that will help people think and behave differently. And this is what the Immortal Awards are all about – rewarding work that truly shifts perspectives, resets conventions, and inspires what comes next. And this is a tremendous career achievement that I am so proud of.”

The ideas and truths behind those wins tackled deeply entrenched issues around women's health and its often limited and sanitised representation in media.

Luciana believes “in a world where brands and businesses do more than just sell products”. Instead, she sees the possibility and capacity for brands to use their “reach, influence, and scale to do good and do better”.

“In our category especially, we are surrounded by taboos and stigmas that can make women feel ashamed, insecure, or held back from achieving their full wellbeing – it truly affects their (our) lives, much more than people realise,” she explains. “By tackling these issues head-on, everyone benefits. We support consumers beyond best-in-class products, we build more distinctive and meaningful brands, we drive business growth and we help shape a better world.” For Essity, purpose and business coexist harmoniously and, necessarily, help the brand stand out in a crowded market.

Blood Normal won an Immortal Award in 2018, the show's inaugural year

The Immortal-level work was made possible thanks to the strong creative partnership between Essity and AMV BBDO. The fruitful relationship continually challenges both sides to push the work further, building a client-agency relationship capable of producing genuinely enduring ideas. “I believe there are a few key ingredients behind its success,” says Luciana. “First, you need the right talent on both sides. Without the right minds and hearts, constantly thinking ahead and pushing for more, this work would never have made it beyond our desktops.

“Second, passion. Our teams genuinely care about our brands and our purpose. We all believe that it is possible to build a strong brand, sell amazing products, and make a positive impact on society at the same time. Lastly, as with any long-term relationship, there needs to be openness, respect and collaboration. There are moments when things become unclear or business pressures arise, but we come together and work through them as one team. They know how much we trust them, and we know they are always there to help us solve whatever challenges come our way.”

Viva La Vulva's musical celebration of female anatomy took a second Immortal Award in 2019.

Essity has consistently undertaken and tackled subjects that were historically uncomfortable or overlooked and put them at the centre of culture. When deciding which issues are worth taking a stand on, Lucian reveals that the team often asks with every new brief, ‘What else is there to say?’.

“But the reality is that the femcare category remains full of taboos, stigmas and unmet needs,” she says. “And, as sad as that sounds, there is always another conversation to spark or another perspective to bring to light.” It all starts with a brief and Essity comes to AMV BBDO “with a business challenge, a launch, or a topic we want to address, and then the team goes incredibly deep. They challenge assumptions, uncover insights, and ultimately build the narrative that allows us to tell that story in a meaningful and impactful way.”

Womb Stories explored the highs and lows of having a womb, from the first period to menopause and took home the third Immortal Award in 2020.

An ongoing effort from Libresse means that the brand continues to play a meaningful role in the cultural conversation. “The truth is that our brand has always been at the forefront of starting conversations and shining a light on issues that had never been seen, discussed or considered before,” adds Luciana. “That naturally gives us a very distinctive and relevant position. At the same time, the world is constantly changing. To stay meaningful, you have to keep evolving too, always considering the cultural context, the spaces you're showing up in, and how you deliver your message.”

After three consecutive Immortal wins, Luciana agrees that the challenge to create something that doesn't simply follow the formula of what has worked before, but genuinely surprises people, is more difficult. Not that it’s a deterrent for the brand or its agency. “Since we started this journey, we have seen the world evolve tremendously. Many other femcare brands have had their own ‘wake-up call’ and realised that they can no longer talk to or serve consumers the way they did in the past.”

With ‘Blood Normal’, Essity was the first brand to create a campaign featuring product demonstration without the industry-standard blue liquid. “We showed periods as they really are”, marking a significant milestone in culture. “Many other brands followed until it eventually became the norm,” she says.

“We are incredibly proud to have led the way, and even prouder to have helped change the industry for the better. But becoming distinctive today is much harder precisely because of that progress. That said, it has never been about surprising or shocking people. It has always been about truly understanding women and helping create a better world for them, and ultimately for all of us. As long as we stay true to that purpose, there will always be opportunities to create outstanding work that helps us stand out.”

When it comes to the next generation of Essity's Libresse/Bodyform work, Luciana sees a challenging path ahead. “We need to work even harder on the how,” she says. “The relationship between consumers and brands has changed dramatically, and today we operate in a completely different consumer ecosystem.” It's less about the ‘what’, she observes, and with that in mind, Libresse has “a very clear direction and a strong vision” for where it wants to go.

“It's much more about the ‘how’,” she continues, “how our message shows up across multiple touch points, reaches consumers in meaningful ways, and resonates with more people than ever before. Achieving that requires real strategic thinking and seamless cross-functional orchestration across the business. It's an exciting challenge, and one we're incredibly energised by as we continue to build for the future.”

For Luciana, the best part of this work “is realising that creativity can genuinely improve people's lives” and it’s a privilege she never takes for granted.

Though the campaigns start with a business objective, “at their best, they do something bigger,” she adds. “They help people feel understood, represented and empowered. If we can continue doing that while building strong brands and growing our business, then we're on the right path. And the beauty of it is that this isn't unique to femcare. It can be done in any category, [for] any brand, and any business. I would encourage every marketer to think beyond the immediate brief and the usual ways of working, and ask themselves: ‘what impact can we create beyond the product?’. This is the first step to build a better world and much stronger brands.”

What Essity and AMV BBDO have shown is that taking a stance and dismantling the status quo – while investing in craft – results in work that stands the test of time, moves the cultural needle in a meaningful way, and reaches the Immortal level. It’s not a formula but a commitment which has proven successful three times over already.