Comedians in Cars Testing Panties: Natasha Leggero and X Mayo Hit the Road for Thinx

Natasha Leggero describes her period as “a brave-hearted warrior on the battlefield” and admits she once leaked in a wave pool at a water park—and blamed it on someone else.

Her compadre, X Mayo, likens her monthly menses to “a serial killer who cannot be satisfied.”

If you’re not up for this kind of real talk, then the new campaign from period care company Thinx may not appeal to you. But for everyone else, there’s a two-minute Girls Trip-esque video that combines a product demo with cheeky improv, slapstick humor and sight gags, set against the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. 

The work, from BBDO LA and BBDO Atlanta, is called “12 Hour Period Road Trip,” but an alternate tagline could be, “Comedians in Cars Testing Panties.”

Shot in a single day while both women were on their periods, per the brand, Leggero and X Mayo ad-libbed and road-raged their way through the town’s notorious traffic while keeping up a free-flowing conversation, if you will.

The comedians are showcasing a new absorbent product that’s been more than two years in development, per Thinx, called LeakSafe Barrier, which touts its 12-hour protection.

Bloody good jokes

“They were real bleeders telling real jokes about a really normal bodily function,” BBDO creatives said in a statement. The experiment aimed to sweep away shame, “while giving space for people that bleed to talk about this centuries-old taboo topic.”

Walking the walk of women’s representation on the project included a female director (Lara Everly), female producers, creative directors and account managers, per the agency.

The content launches at a time when women’s health issues are discussed more openly, with boldface names such as Drew Barrymore, Michelle Obama, Salma Hayek and others speaking out about menopause. Meanwhile, actor-writer-comedian Amy Schumer is a spokesperson for Tampax. 

Yet the marketing around products in the space, especially femtech and sexual health, still runs a gauntlet of restrictions and censorship in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Comedy queens

But humor and celebrity can open doors, with Leggero and X Mayo riffing on the origin of the term “feminine hygiene,” which they say should get a gender flip.

“There should be a male hygiene aisle,” Leggero says in the mini-movie.

“It would just be a big old sign that said, ‘Wash your ass,’” X Mayo says as the two friends burst out laughing.

Eventually, the pair ends up in a laundromat with a baffled man staring at a pants-free Leggero, which makes perfect sense in context.

The short film drops as new owner Kimberly-Clark—home of Kotex, Kleenex, Cottonelle and Huggies—continues to pull Thinx under its corporate umbrella. The move follows massive layoffs at Thinx that culled 95 of its 109-person team earlier this year.