Persil x Arsenal Women Campaign Tackles Period Stain Taboos

Created in collaboration with advertising agency MullenLowe UK, the 40-second hero ad stars Arsenal Women’s captain Kim Little alongside players Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Katie McCabe. Aligning with Persil’s existing slogan Dirt Is Good, which seeks to encourage children to participate in outdoor activities without the fear of getting dirty in the process, the ad reframes stains obtained while engaging in sports (grass, mud, sweat and blood) as “part of the game”.

Set to a dramatic score (Mozart’s Symphony No.40), the clip shows Arsenal players with grass-soiled kits, a woman fearlessly traversing a large muddy puddle during a cross-country run and sweat dripping from a boxer’s face, building to a poignant crescendo that spotlights a pair of period-stained white football shorts, underscored by the statistic: in Britain alone, six in 10 girls fear playing sports due to period leaks (Youth Sports Trust, 2024).

Alongside the ad, Instagram reels featuring Arsenal Women players offer candid anecdotes of their experiences with football and menstruation (Williamson says she was on her period as she captained the England Women’s team to victory during the Women’s Euros 2022) to empower girls and women to continue with sports while menstruating. As a summer of women’s sport approaches (notably, UEFA Women’s Euros 2025 in Switzerland, July 2-27), Persil’s collaborative campaign spotlights a strategic opportunity for FMCG brands to enter the conversation on breaking period taboos.

For more on brands seeking to destigmatise menstruation, see Bodyform Champions Taboo-Busting Early Period Education.