Oscars rejects postnatal advert showing reality of pregnancy for being ‘too graphic’

‘It’s not “violent, political” or sexual in nature,’ says brand

The Academy Awards has been fiercely criticised for refusing to run an advert which looks at the issues women face after giving birth.

Frida Mom, which sells products to alleviate postnatal problems, said their advert was deemed to be “too graphic” to be showcased by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and the Oscars.

The advert shows a new mother waking up to a crying baby in the night who she calms down before struggling into the bathroom to change her mesh hospital underwear and large-sized pad for postnatal bleeding.

“Postpartum recovery doesn’t have to be this hard,” a slogan at the end of the advert then says, before showing Frida Mom products

The brand said: “It’s not ‘violent, political’ or sexual in nature. Our ad is not ‘religious or lewd’ and does not portray guns or ammunition.”

But it admitted knowing that “‘feminine hygiene & haemorrhoid relief’ are also banned subjects”.

Bosses added: “It’s just a new mum, home with her baby and her new body for the first time. Yet it was rejected. And we wonder why new mums feel unprepared.”

The firm said the ad was deemed to infringe the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ guidelines by being “too graphic with partial nudity and product demonstration’”.

The Independent has contacted the Oscars for comment.

Busy Philipps, an actor who starred in Dawson’s Creek and White Chicks, said in an Instagram post: “I DO believe so strongly that the more we can NORMALIZE A WOMAN’S BODILY EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA, the better off our culture and society will be.

“AND YES THAT MEANS ADS TOO. You probably don’t even flinch when an erectile dysfunction ad comes on but THIS AD IS REJECTED?! I think this is an incredible piece of advertising that accurately represents something millions of women know intimately.

“And I’m so f***ing sick of living in a society where the act of simply BEING A WOMAN is rejected by the gatekeepers of media. Well. Shame on them and NOT on us for simply being human women.”

Another critic tweeted: “This is the most honest, relief-inducing portrayal of those first few postpartum weeks. The painful shuffle, the pads the size of mattresses, the sodding pee bottle, all while the baby wails.”

One more chipped in: “It’s 2020, important ads like this should not be banned.”