SYDNEY: Australia's advertising watchdog has dismissed hundreds of complaints against a television commercial depicting menstrual blood.
The advertisement for sanitary pad brand Libra shows red liquid being poured onto a pad and blood running down the leg of a woman while she is showering.
The commercial began airing in August and has drawn more than 600 complaints, according to marketing industry news site Mumbrella.
It attracted the largest number of complaints for any television commercial in the country so far this year, but they were all dismissed by the regulator earlier this month.
Disgruntled viewers submitted a variety of concerns over the ad, including that it was "disgusting", "offensive" and "distasteful".
It is part of Libra's #bloodnormal campaign which seeks to break taboos associated with menstruation by showing real blood instead of blue liquid traditionally used in such commercials.
The campaign has been running since 2017 and is shown on television in many European countries where local regulators have dismissed similar complaints, Libra said in its response to the Australian submission.
"Periods are normal. Showing them should be," text within the advert states.
A review panel at Australia's advertising watchdog Ad Standards determined on a number of fronts that the commercial did not breach the industry's code of ethics.
"The Panel noted that the whole #bloodnormal campaign, including this specific advertisement, is based around the concept that menstruation is normal and not something to be embarrassed or shamed about," Ad Standards said in its response.
"The Panel considered that the overall impression of the advertisement supports this concept."
It also dismissed complaints that the ad should not air at a time when it could be viewed by children.
"The majority of the Panel considered that the advertisement is communicating an important social message and promoting equality and the de-mystification of menstruation."