Bodyform's response to Facebook rant a viral hit

This is a really clever response by a company that found itself being torn apart on Facebook. Bodyform, a UK company that sells products that help women feel more comfortable when having their periods, have used a spoof YouTube video to respond to a message left on their Facebook wall by a disgruntled boyfriend that itself went viral, with incredible results. An irritated boyfriend, Richard Neill posted a ‘complaint’ on the Bodyform Facebook page. The comment went viral and had over 91,000 likes in just a number of days. Instead of being replied to or even ignored, the company hit back with a brilliant spoof apology via a YouTube video.

Neill took to Bodyform’s Facebook page to register his upset at Bodyform’s ‘lies’ about a woman’s time of the month. He said he was angry that the feminine hygiene brand had “lied to us for all these years”.

“As a child I watched your advertisements with interest as to how at this wonderful time of the month that the female gets to enjoy so many things, I felt a little jealous.” He remembered happy women bike riding and “blue water and wings” from the Bodyform adverts of the 80s and 90s.

“Then I got a girlfriend, was so happy and couldn't wait for this joyous adventurous time of the month to happen .....you lied !! “There was no joy, no extreme sports , no blue water spilling over wings and no rocking soundtrack oh no no no,” Neill continued. “Instead I had to fight against every male urge I had to resist screaming wooaaahhhhh bodddyyyyyyfooorrrmmm bodyformed for youuuuuuu as my lady changed from the loving , gentle, normal skin coloured lady to the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin. “Thanks for setting me up for a fall bodyform , you crafty b*****r.”

Bodyform then took to the internet to issue its spoof apology, with an actress playing the company’s mock chief executive, named Caroline Williams. The text accompanying the video, already an internet sensation, says: “Hi Richard. We loved your post on our Facebook page. We are always grateful for input from our users, but your comment was particularly poignant.

“If Facebook had a "love" button, we'd have clicked it. But it doesn't. So we've made you a video instead.

“Unfortunately Bodyform doesn't have a CEO. But if it did she'd be called Caroline Williams. And she'd say this.” In the clip, entitled, ‘The Truth’, Williams says: “We lied to you Richard and we want to say 'sorry'. 'Sorry'. “What you’ve seen in our advertisements so far isn’t a factual representationof events, you’re right. “The flagrant use of visualisation such as skydiving, rollerblading and mountain biking - you forgot horse riding, Richard - are actually metaphors, they’re not real. There’s no such thing as a happy period.”

She jokingly explains that Bodyform was just trying to protect men from the real truth about women’s bodies.

Brilliantly the piece ends with Williams breaking wind, asking whether Neill knew that women did that too.