News (Hot) Flash: It's OK to Talk About (and Laugh at) Menopause

Menopause is a hot (flashes) topic, one that typically isn't publicly discussed let alone laughed about. Kimberly-Clark is looking to change that. In fact, it's seeking applause for menopause.

Its Poise brand is sponsoring a North American comedy tour with Sherri Shepherd (of The View and 30 Rock fame) and TV legend Cloris Leachman. The title: The Hot Flash Road Show. “I’m no stranger to talking about sensitive topics, so I jumped at the chance to partner with Poise brand," Shepherd comments.

“At 86 years young, I definitely have my share of menopause stories that I think every woman will eventually relate to,” says Leachman, a nine-time Emmy Award winning actress and star of FOX’s Raising Hope.

“The Poise brand has always taken a light-hearted approach to tackling difficult topics,” stated Rebecca Dunphey, Poise brand director at Kimberly-Clark. 

“Eight in 10 women say it’s time to change the way society thinks about menopause, and the Hot Flash Road Show is a unique opportunity to get people to think differently about this life stage," Leachman added. It's about time.

The women's health therapeutics market was estimated to be worth $14,530 million in 2010 by GBI Research, which sees the market growing at about 8 per cent annually to about $24,671 milion in 2017.

In addition to sponsoring the Hot Flash Roadshow, which kicks off tonight in New York before moving on to Toronto and Los Angeles. The comedy events are free, but space is limited. With any luck, women will be laughing by the time World Menopause Day (no joke: that's a real thing) rolls around on Oct. 18.

It's an experiential branding twist for a brand that launched in 1992. Today Poise is the market leader in Light Bladder Leakage protection products for women and recently expanded into the feminine wellness category with the introduction of the Poise Feminine Wellness line.

“Advertisers have known for decades that women are a lucrative demographic for their products," writes blogger Magnolia Miller. "We are usually the ones who mind the household budget and do the shopping for the home and for our family, so it only makes sense that marketers and advertisers would target women. Certainly, menopause is no different."

Whoopi Goldberg opened the closet door in series of webisodes that took the high road of history portraying Eve, Cleopatra, the Mona Lisa, and Joan of Arc in a Poise campaign that first aired on ‘The View’ in 2010.

“Suffice it to say that if Kimberly-Clark is half as successful as Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign, which was launched and marketed toward middle-aged women in 2004, they are certainly positioning themselves to reap great profits,” as Miller puts it.