Essity, maker of Bodyform, Saba and Libresse, has hired former AMV BBDO boss Sarah Douglas as global brand director.
Douglas departed AMV BDDO following more than two decades in March 2022 after serving chief executive officer (CEO) for two-and-a-half years. She held several positions at the Omnicom agency during her tenure, including managing partner and chief client officer, where she led the Essity account.
Douglas will be based out of Essity’s HQ in Stockhom. Adweek has reached out for further information on her remit.
Under AMV BBDO’s creative stewardship, the global health and hygiene company has made its name busting taboos surrounding feminine care and period advertising. Its sanitary brand Bodyform smashed stigmas with “Blood Normal,” in 2018 when it abandoned blue liquid in favor of the first real, overdue depiction of menstrual blood in an ad.
More recently, it tackled the “sleep gap” experienced by people who menstruate with its surreal “Periodsomnia” work. Its incontinence brand TENA, recently launched “The Last Lonely Menopause” campaign in the U.K. to tackle the “toxic” stereotyping women face as they get older.
At AMV BBDO, Douglas was succeeded by Sam Hawkey, who joined from Saatchi & Saatchi London.
Shake up at Essity
The marketers’ brand appointment comes amid a time of change for Essity’s brand portfolio, with the business having recently appointed Wunderman Thompson to handle its global ecommerce and design business.
As part of its brief, the WPP shop will overhaul Essity’s DTC website, customer experience and global UX&UI design system implementation. The agency got started in March, running a full test and analysis across the brand’s online store to identify and act on opportunities where the experience can be optimized.
Essity also recently added indie agency Mother to its roster, too, with a brief to promote its washable absorbent underwear brand, Intimawear which is designed to be worn by those menstruating and those with bladder weakness.
In July, Essity made further advancement in this space by acquiring an 80% stake in Canadian company Knix, a provider of leakproof underwear for periods and incontinence, and Australian brand Modibodi which further strengthened its hold on the fast-growing segment.
Leakproof apparel has an expected annual growth rate of more than 20% for the next five years according to the company’s own data.
