Myovant Sciences × HealthyWomen · Advocacy campaign
Through visual storytelling, we helped translate authentic lived experiences into a corporate advocacy campaign designed to challenge menstrual stigma and, ultimately, expand access to care.
The challenge
Menstruation is a healthy and necessary function of the body. Millions experience it, yet it is rarely discussed with openness and honesty — even in health care settings.
Many menstruators may live their whole lives feeling alone in their experience, wondering what's “normal.” That silence leads to dismissed symptoms, quiet suffering and long-term complications.
Myovant Sciences, now part of Sumitomo Pharma, set out to redefine care for menstruators. As a company developing treatments for women's health and oncology, it recognized that improving outcomes required more than new therapies — it required addressing the stigma that shapes access to care in the first place.
“The status quo in women's health is unacceptable. We need a new playbook to drive the change women need and deserve.”Lynn Seely, M.D., then President and CEO of Myovant
Myovant co-launched Female Forward Together — a cross-sector coalition bringing together healthcare, research, data science, digital health and advocacy — including a partnership with HealthyWomen, the nation's leading independent nonprofit health information source for women. Cognition joined as strategic creative partner to activate the broader digital campaign.
Evidence
Out of 13,145 respondents, the picture was unambiguous: periods are still shrouded in stigma. The implication for strategy was clear — breaking stigma would be essential to improving access to and investment in women's health care.
If people are not comfortable talking about menstruation, how can they know what is normal? If providers do not hear the full story, how can they diagnose and treat effectively? And if needs remain invisible, how can innovation rise to meet them?
Period stigma is pervasive and it has real consequences. Reducing the shame and taboo around periods is what improves access to menstrual products and increases investment in women's health.
agree there is a stigma around menstruation
of people who menstruate feel uncomfortable discussing their period
not comfortable talking to close family or a health care provider
Outcome
Voices of Periods was a digital storytelling campaign anchored by six short-form films, a cohesive visual identity and a phased Instagram activation. Each film featured a single storyteller sharing her lived experience, supported by custom illustrations and animated elements. As a series, the distinct voices connected by a shared question of what is “normal.”
The stories range from openly admitting not knowing what menstrual pads are for (apparently not Barbie beds) to finding your own voice after a doctor calls not having a period “not a big deal.” Together the films both demonstrated and provided a space where menstruators could talk about their periods loudly, humorously and openly — inside the doctor's office and out.
The process
Myovant's advocacy team partnered with HealthyWomen and MothWorks at The Moth to run the story submission process. Cognition was the strategic and creative connector between the three, setting guardrails that protected narrative integrity while meeting corporate advocacy goals.
The Moth led the storytelling workshop. We guided narrative strategy and creative direction, partnered with a director-editor duo to film each story remotely during COVID, and developed the visual design system of illustrations, animations and digital assets.
What the connector role meant in practice
Navigating cross-sector coalition dynamics.
Editorial and distribution ownership between partners.
Differing perspectives on narrative approach.
Medical, legal and regulatory review, including comment moderation.
Impact
people reached before the platform was deprecated
of individuals sharing their own stories in the comments
The first wave launched exclusively with the six videos on Instagram; subsequent waves layered in awareness and educational resources. The social strategy prioritized a conversational tone, inclusive language, formats optimized for sharing, and clear pathways for participation.
Some wrote about their first menstruation and the embarrassment that followed. Others shared anger, or gratitude for the education they did or didn't have. Most offered words of support to the six storytellers and to each other. Participants saw their own questions reflected back, and many shared the same realization: “I thought it was just me.”
That shift from isolation to recognition is where stigma begins to loosen, and where more honest conversations with providers can begin. The campaign strengthened Myovant's position as a responsible corporate advocate in women's health — showing that a health care company can enter a cultural dialogue by elevating patient voices without co-opting them. Though the platform is now offline, its legacy remains.
“We hope the steps these storytellers have taken will inspire many others — men included — to break the silence around menstruation. It's a critical step toward ensuring that all aspects of women's health get the attention and care they deserve.”
Kalahn Taylor-Clark, PhD, MPH
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Innovation
Partners and team
Capturing each storyteller, authentically
Six women developed stories about their periods into short, personal video narratives, filmed remotely during the COVID pandemic under the direction of Mabel Nash Greenburg and edited by Emily J. Drummer. Illustrations by Regina Milner.
Team: Suzy Obst · Vanessa Ruiz · Mabel Nash Greenburg · Regina Milner · Valerie Bentivegna · Lindsey Jensen · Sofia Cababa Wood · Kristine Johnson.
