Amy Schumer is getting blamed for the national tampon shortage: Check out Why?
3 min read
Photo by Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Procter & Gamble is blaming a national tampon shortage on comedian Amy Schumer.
In July 2020, Amy Schumer, 41, participated in advertising for Tampax, P&G’s most popular tampon brand in the United States, with the goal of normalizing conversations about menstruation.
“Retail sales growth has soared,” said company spokesperson Cheri McMaster to Time magazine, adding that demand has increased by 7.7% since the Oscars 2022 host starred in a series of advertisements for the company over two years ago.
Where are Tampax tampons available?
In many country regions, Tampax tampons are currently hard to come by, “with Amazon dealers taking advantage of the shortage.” According to the publication, a package of 18 Tampax “listed for $114 in January, roughly $6 more – per tampon — than women generally pay.” A charity that helps homeless women has observed a “significant drop off” in contributions of the feminine hygiene product and furious scarcity complaints in Reddit posts.
According to McMaster, the corporation is pushing Tampax plant workers ragged in Maine, with the manufacturer functioning 24 hours a day in an attempt to plug the demand dam.
Is it Schumer’s well-executed public relations campaign that’s to blame?
Both the “Trainwreck” star and P&G have been contacted for comment by The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, P&G’s “most recent quarter had its highest sales growth in decades, and the amount of money it gained from sales in its feminine care segment was up 10%.”
However, Time reporter Alana Semuels is suspicious of P&G’s allegation that “Life or Beth” actress Schumer is to blame for the shortfall, questioning whether modern advertisements have the power to send things out the door on their own.
Furthermore, other tampon manufacturers, such as Playtex, are in low supply as well, and they don’t have an Emmy winner and Tony nominee to blame.
The COVID-19 pandemic, according to Time, is partly to blame, since cotton, plastic, and paper pulp needed to create tampons have been in high demand for masks and other personal protective equipment, placing strain on the supply chain.
Factory closures and a lack of workers have also exacerbated the problem.
Tampons aren’t the only necessity that’s hard to come by in retailers around the country.
Fearful parents are dealing with a severe scarcity of baby formula, which is expected to last for another two months.
Due to the shortages, there have been confrontations in grocery aisles and two newborns have been admitted to the hospital.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear how much Schumer was paid for the ostensibly important commercials, but in July 2020, P&G proudly revealed their relationship with the comedian in a press release.
“We thought Amy Schumer was the right choice when we decided to focus on tampon and period education since Amy doesn’t shy away from anything,” they said.
Ankita Khanrah
Ankita Khanrah is a second-year student of the Master of Communication and Journalism (Integrated) programme at the School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed University, Bhubaneswar.
