The brief was to shift brand perception and move Kotex from #3 to #2 in the feminine care category in South Africa. The insight was that period stigmas were still pervasive — seen as shameful, messy, and something to hide — not just from men, but even between women. Kotex wanted to change that narrative and build cultural relevance by championing period positivity.

As Lead Art Director, I worked with my CD to shape the entire creative strategy — from ideation to execution. We decided to challenge stigma through a powerful cultural channel: music. We took a popular hip-hop track that originally had a negative message about women and reimagined it with rapper Boity — this time co-written by women across South Africa. It became the “She Can” Anthem — a crowd-sourced, pro-period song, with a music video produced by an all-female crew. We extended the campaign with influencer content, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and a full product ad, all centred around the idea: Period or not, she can.

The results were huge:
– Over 44 million impressions
– 12M TikTok views
– Top 20 most-played song in SA at the time
– Finalist in the 2022 Effie Awards

My role was to guide the art direction across every phase — I managed midweight and junior creatives, developed visual systems and social content, briefed the macro-influencer, and co-directed the music video alongside the production team. I really owned the creative thread from pitch to post-production.