Well, Hostess’ marketing team certainly took a bold swing with their latest Twinkies ad campaign. Unfortunately for them, that swing’s backfired big time: Hostess has apologized for insisting Twinkies can work as a tampon substitute for women in a pinch.
Yikes…credit to Hostess for trying a new approach, but focus-grouping this one a bit more might have saved them a lot of trouble.
In response to overwhelming backlash, Hostess has issued a statement formally apologizing for an ad campaign that promoted Twinkies as a serviceable eleventh hour option for absorbing menstrual flow in situations where a woman on her period has access to Twinkies but not tampons. Hostess’ social media accounts began pushing Twinkies as a “perfectly fine temporary solution for menstruators in a tight spot” early last week, aggressively defending the brand’s new messaging in comment sections when Internet users pushed back on the idea that a Twinkie could ever be used as a tampon.
“Our intention was to be helpful, and on that front, we failed our customers,” lamented Hostess CEO Andrew P. Callahan in the company’s statement. “While we regret that our approach wasn’t as tactful as it could’ve been, we stand by our belief that Twinkies are an okay fill-in for plugging a heavy bleed—not an ideal or superior option compared to traditional feminine hygiene products, just a functional, makeshift solve for a menstruating woman in desperate situations. We apologize that the nuance of our message was lost on consumers, and for not communicating better.”
Hostess should’ve thought twice before tripling-down on this take. Their PR team is certainly paying for it now!
Suffice it to say, someone’s getting fired for this one. Whether a Twinkie could be a functional tampon, as an emergency quick fix or otherwise, doesn’t matter: Hostess totally shot themselves in the foot with the way they handled this debacle. Other snack brands had better take note, because this is not how you start a discussion about menstruation!
