Always (brand)

Always is an American brand of menstrual hygiene products, including maxi pads, ultra thin pads, pantyliners, disposable underwear for night-time wear, and vaginal wipes. A sister concern of Procter & Gamble, it was first introduced in the United States in test markets in the spring of 1983, then nationally in May 1984. By the end of 1984, Always had also been introduced internationally in United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, and Africa.

Always
Product typeFeminine hygiene line, including:
sanitary pads
Ultra Thin pads
Pantiliners
Cleansing wipes
OwnerProcter & Gamble
CountryUnited States
Introduced1983 (1983)
Related brandsWhisper (Australia and Asian countries)
Lines (Italy)
Orkid (Turkey)
Evax/Ausonia (Spain and Portugal)
Tampax
MarketsWorldwide
TaglineRewrite the rules, always
Websitewww.always.com

According to Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble, Always was Procter & Gamble's "first truly global brand."[1] Always is sold under the name Whisper in Japan, Singapore, India, China, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia and Indonesia, Lines in Italy, Orkid in Turkey, Evax in Spain, and Ausonia in Portugal. The 'Always' name is applicable to products sold in the US, Africa, and some European countries.

Always products are manufactured in Belleville, Ontario, Canada at a 700,000-sq.-ft. plant with 175,000-sq.-ft. of warehouse.[2] The plant is one of Procter & Gamble's largest in North America.

Marketing

In June 2020, Always launched a bold new campaign against the backdrop of the global pandemic and national lockdowns. “The New Brave” is a movement that honoured the resilience of women around the world during – facing the challenges of the new world with courage and determination. The campaign highlighted the self-empowerment of women during the pandemic, including those fighting isolation at home, not seeing family for long periods of time, managing remote work and school, teaching and learning with children and adapting to a new definition.

The "Like a Girl" campaign from Leo Burnett won the 2015 Emmy Award for outstanding commercial. Lauren Greenfield directed the spot, which debuted in June 2014 and aired during Super Bowl XLIX. The commercial asked the question "When did doing something 'like a girl' become an insult?" [3] Running, throwing, or fighting like a girl are seen by adults as equivalent to weak, but by young girls as strong.[3][4]

The school program run by Whisper (In India)[5] has helped teach young girls about female hygiene in a country where menstruation is still a big taboo.[6] Always has also undertaken similar programs in Kenya and other parts of Africa to raise awareness about menstruation, celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day, and provide easy access to sanitary products to schoolgirls.[7]

Educational marketing for the product includes the company's BeingGirl website.[8][9]

In 2018, Always ran a campaign called End Period Poverty, which would donate one pad to a person in need for every package sold.[10]

In 2019, the brand removed the female symbol from their marketing.[11]

In 2020, the brand claimed that 60% of women wore the wrong size pad, and built a campaign around this idea.[12]

Controversy

In 2019, Kenyan activist and politician Scheaffer Okore started #MyAlwaysExperience to share the concerns of Kenyan consumers of the Always Kenya brand. Okore highlighted the need for gentler skin products to be made available in African markets. Following this, the Always Kenya brand team hosted a series of meetings with consumers to better understand the needs of Kenyan consumers. This led to the launch of #GenerationOfChange [13] – a campaign that celebrated women who speak up and mobilise. Always also introduced two new innovations designed for maximum skin comfort - New Always Feather Soft and New Always Pure Organic Top Sheet. The campaign’s message - “You spoke, we listened, we improved” acknowledged the positive role that dialogue plays in product innovation.

In the UK, the price of branded products such as Always pads were a subject of the End Period Poverty Task-Force in Westminister. P&G was a member of the task force.[14]

Social Causes

Always & Whisper have been running their Keeping Girls in School Program in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and India for many years. In 2020, recognizing their girls are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; Whisper established a mobile education program called “ Whisper MobileShaala” to Keep Girls in School even when at home. MobileShaala provides underprivileged girls in India access to school through web-based learning including subjects like Science, Geography, English, Mathematics and Puberty Education in 6 Indian languages

Bridge of Peace, Tbilisi, Georgia

In Tbilisi, Georgia the Bridge of Peace is nicknamed the Always Ultra Bridge for its resemblance to a maxi-pad.[15][16]

  • Always Maxi pads
  • Different sizes of Always pads
  • Always Platinum pantyliner
  • Always Dailies long pad
  • Discreet pantylinner
  • Discreet Normal (Africa, Knenya)
  • Always Platinum sanitary pad
  • Always Sensitive sanitary pad
  • Always Platinum pad

See also

References
  1. Davis, Dyer; et al. (May 1, 2004). Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter and Gamble. Harvard Business Press. pp. 190–191, 421. ISBN 9781591391470. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  2. nurun.com. "UPDATED: P&G plant in Belleville important". The Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  3. Diaz, Ann-Christine (September 13, 2015). "Always' Hard-Hitting 'Like a Girl' Wins 2015 Outstanding Commercial Emmy". Advertising Age. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  4. "Rhetorical Analysis of Always's 'Like a Girl' Advertisement". October 2, 2014.
  5. "Whisper urges consumers to #KeepGirlsInSchool with its latest campaign". The Financial Express. 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  6. "Why India must battle the shame of period stain". BBC News. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/always-pads-school-girls-periods-south-africa/
  8. Palmer, Alex (January 1, 2011). "Marketers strike a balance between skeptical teens and their cautious parents". Direct Marketing News. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  9. Nutter, Blaise (August 31, 2009). "5 rules for marketing in niche social networks". iMediaConnection. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  10. "Join Always to End Period Poverty!". always.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  11. Murphy, Heather (2019-10-22). "Always Removes Female Symbol From Sanitary Pads". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  12. "Always Feminine Products and Menstrual Information | Always.com". always.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  13. Always #GenerationOfChange’, Always Africa YouTube Channel (21 January 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b08AgT_D58
  14. "Period Poverty Taskforce - Minister announces next steps on Menstrual Hygiene Day". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  15. "A new look for Old Tbilisi", The Economist, OCTOBER 06, 2010 Archived May 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Lonely Planet, p.122


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