Agencies chase 6m US sanpro

US company Ultrafem is looking for an agency to handle the 6m launch of a rival product to tampons in the UK later this year.

Ultrafem has been talking to a number of London agencies over the past few weeks about a campaign to promote its sanitary protection product, called Instead.

Instead is a 12-hour disposable protection cup which works like a diaphragm to collect menstrual fluids. The company claims the product can be used for twice as long as other sanitary products.

The product was launched in the US towards the end of 1996. It is made from rubber-like material which softens with the body’s natural heat.

It has been well received in both the medical and consumer press in the US.

Ultrafem also claims Instead will reduce the incidence of toxic shock syndrome, a potentially fatal illness characterised by fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, the incidence of which is higher in women who use tampons.

However, since the withdrawal of certain types of super-absorbent tampons, fewer cases of the syndrome have been reported.