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THE BLEEDING EDGE | PAGE 2 OF 2
But when it comes to educating young women about tampons and menstruation, Kotex shows a far better understanding of its readers' fears and desires than Tampax. For example, Tampax's sterile, cold treatment of anatomy ("The urinary opening, vagina, and anus are located quite close together. Solid waste material contains many bacteria") relies on bland medical diagrams. Kotex shaped its content by looking at the questions young girls ask in calls to its hot line. The site uses easy-on-the-eyes cartoonlike illustrations and actually walks you through self-exploration: "You might wish to consult an illustration, or better yet, use a handy dandy mirror to hold between your legs. OK, OK, this might feel a little bizarre at first, but jeez, how else are you going to learn about you?" Both the Kotex and Tampax sites provide high-quality information in impressive depth. And because they're online, they offer personal interaction not possible in a classroom or a book -- along with anonymity for the shy or embarrassed. "People can get very personal information whenever they want, wherever, so they can find out how their body works without asking mom or dad," explains Judy Barton, account manager at Organic, the company that built Kotex's Web site. Cimeron Dunlap, Organic's director of marketing, adds, "It's meant to make them comfortable, and not feel queasy about the topic of menstruation. They would not have that if they saw a commercial on the TV. It's a much deeper relationship that's available on the Web." The designers of both the Tampax and Kotex sites say their primary objective is educational: "It's all about empowering girls and making them feel good about their body," explains Barton. Of course. But these are businesses, too: Isn't the sharp design and useful content just an underhanded way of marketing a product to young girls who aren't savvy enough to know when they're the targets of "branding"? One of Kotex's more nifty interactive functions is clearly meant to push product: pull-down menus where you enter information about your period to calculate which Kotex products best match your "flow" and "lifestyle." And, of course, on both sites, all pages lead back to tampons -- an article may begin discussing boyfriend problems, but rest assured it will end with product placement. Tampax offers free samples throughout the site. "What we want them to do is request samples. This is a company whose business is selling products and helping young girls to make the right decision," says Susan Goodman, marketing vice president at Think Inc., which developed the Tampax site. So isn't Tampax just using its inviting content to close a sale? Sure -- but they're also providing a valuable service: informing young girls about their bodies in a cool, safe environment. "This is not Joe Camel. This is something that's important for young girls, for their self-image, for their health, for their lives. We're creating a forum for them to talk to each other and get much needed information in a comfortable place as opposed to getting the wrong information, feeling shameful about it," says Megan O'Connor, accounts supervisor at Think Inc. And she's right. Tampons are all pretty much the same, and they are necessary -- unlike cigarettes, soda pop and other junk marketed to young people on the Web. These companies have provided a public resource; there's nothing wrong with buying their goods in return. "We try not to dupe [girls] into something that they're not interested in. It doesn't take any underhanded efforts. It's very focused on information and education. If we provide people with that, they will look at Kotex and say, Wow! They're the ones that gave me that information and helped me," Barton says. It's a smart strategy -- one that demonstrates how commercialism can move beyond the exclusively self-serving marketing message. Wouldn't it be nice if other companies followed that lead? Imagine if Coca-Cola used its site to promote a social cause. Or if Budweiser hosted a discussion on the hazards of binge drinking . Or R.J. Reynolds offered education on cancer risks. Well, OK, we won't hold our breaths for that. But there's plenty more room for corporate Web sites to go beyond traditional marketing. No one can say that public service and product promotion are mutually exclusive -- not after what Tampax and Kotex have done on the Web. I only wish their sites had been around when I was 13.
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