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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jessica Knibbs

Tampax sparks controversy on Twitter with ‘vulgar’ viral tweet

Tampax’s recent tweet got a bad reaction from social media users

(Picture: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Tampon brand Tampax has been hit with controversy after its recent tweet, which social media users have deemed “vulgar” and “gross.”

Tampax went viral after putting its spin on the popular flirting method of “Slipping into someone’s DMs”, a reference to someone romantically and sexually approaching others by messaging on their social media platforms.

Tampax tweeted on Monday, November 21: “You’re in their DMs. We’re in them. We are not the same”.

The seemingly innocent tweet racked up more than 360,000 likes and 47,500 retweets, but not all were amused.

Some labelled the tweet “gross” and “inappropriate”, with people in an uproar about how the brand chose to be so explicit in how tampons are used.

Twitter was in an uproar after the tweets went viral, and many showed their dismay at the choice of words.

One user said: “Real weird for a company that sells products made for woman’s natural bodily functions to make a tweet sexualizing woman for using their products…. lmfaooo fire ur social media manager, this is gross”.

Another added: “It never ceases to amaze me how brands are so ready to alienate their core demographic. It’s certainly an interesting business strategy.”

“Yikes! This is BEYOND inappropriate from a corporation,” added another.

Some also warned about the dangers of young people reading the tweet as many girls as young as nine-years-old are getting their period with others saying the brand is “alienating” themselves.

Many critics called for the company to delete the tweet due to the surrounding controversy, which despite the outcry from the public, has yet to be removed.

Tampax chose to respond in a light-hearted manner with the controversy and retweeted the joke saying it “refused to let Twitter shut down before we shared this tweet” – referencing recent rumours about the social media platform’s future after Elon Musk’s takeover.

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