Procter & Gamble blames Amy Schumer for Tampax tampon shortage after ‘successful’ ad campaign

Procter & Gamble is blaming comedian Amy Schumer for a Tampax tampon shortage after sales for the product soared in the two years since she starred in a series of commercials for the company.

The successful ad campaign was launched by P&G, America’s most popular tampon brand, in July 2020 with Schumer, 41, front and center as a friendly tampon supplier who popped up restrooms when someone was in need of the product. 

And now Tampax tampons are so hard to come by in ‘many parts of the country,’ Time magazine claims, that the company is running its Tampax factory in Maine 24 hours a day to try and keep up with the demand.

‘Retail sales growth has exploded,’ company spokeswoman Cheri McMaster told Time magazine. 

She said that demand is up 7.7% since the commercials aired nearly two years ago.

Comedian Amy Schumer, 41, appeared in a series of commercials for Tampax in 2020 and now the Procter & Gamble brand claims Schumer is the one responsible for the high demand

With Tampax tampons flying off the shelves in many parts of the country, some Amazon sellers are ‘taking advantage of the shortage,’ Time magazine reported

The company ‘posted its biggest sales gain in decades in the most recent quarter, and the amount of money it made from sales in its feminine care division was up 10%,’ Time reported. 

Evidence of the shortage has spread across social media with women posting photos of empty shelves at pharmacies and big box stores like Target and Walmart. 

‘WTF! There seems to be a tampon shortage,’ Amanda Christine posted along with a photo of empty shelves. ‘I have been to two pharmacies and Target. Really?? As if menstrual cycles aren’t an inconvenience, already.’

Kimberly Georgekopoulos posted a similar photo to Facebook and stated that ‘with 2 girls this [shortage] cannot happen.’ 

Another asked, ‘Is there a tampon shortage!!!! Went to 2 stores and they both looked like this. Ugh with 2 girls this cannot happen!!!!’

Dana Marlowe, the founder of I Support the Girls, an organization that provides bras and feminine hygiene products  for the homeless, told Time that they have seen a drop off in tampon donations. 

‘What’s been going on for a couple months is that organizations call us up and say, “we need tampons,” and we go to our warehouse and there’s nothing there,’ she said. 

Time reported that during the first six months of this year, the group received just 213,075 tampons, which is half as many as during the same time last year and 61% fewer than 2020. 

With Tampax tampons scarce from the shelves, some Amazon sellers are ‘taking advantage of the shortage,’ according to the magazine.

In January, one box of 18 Tampax ‘listed for $114, about $6 more more — per tampon — than women usually pay.’

But Time magazine reported that COVID-19 pandemic, factory closures and staff shortages are also all partially responsible for the growth in sales. 

P&G noted in a recent earnings call it was having trouble sourcing raw materials for tampons and other feminine care products, as well as getting them on trucks and to retailers.  

CEO Thyme Sullivan of The Organic Project, which makes tampons in Europe, told Time that the cost of getting its tampons to the U.S. is up 300% from last year. The company started ‘flying, rather than shipping, the biodegradable wrappers for its feminine care products from Italy because shipping has become so difficult and expensive.’

Tampons aren’t the only essential item that has recently been hard to find in stores.

Ashley Afonso Coughlin posted to social media a photo of empty shelves along with a comment about her frustration with both the tampon shortage and the recent formula shortage.

‘As if a formula shortage wasn’t bad enough, apparently we need to hunt for tampons too,’ she wrote. 

The successful ad campaign was launched by P&G, America’s most popular tampon brand, in July 2020 with Schumer, 41, front and center as a friendly tampon supplier

Schumer also is seen in the commercials visiting the gyno 

A nationwide baby formula shortage was triggered when the largest baby formula factory in the US closed February after a bacteria contamination and has since worsened nationally. 

Abbott Laboratories finally reopened infant formula production at its facility in Sturgis on Saturday having met FDA requirements agreed to last month. 

Abbott will then resume production of all other formulas, with the plant having previously said it will take six to eight weeks before stocks are replenished at stores. 

Out-of-stock rates climbed to 74 percent across the US for the week ending May 28, according to data from Datasembly – up four percent from the week before.

Additionally, 10 states now have out-of-stock rates at 90 percent or greater, including Arizona, Mississippi, California, Nevada, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Florida and Washington.

Abbott Laboratories restarted infant formula production at its facility in Sturgis, Mich. on Saturday after having met FDA requirements agreed to last month

Out-of-stock formula rates climbed to 74 percent nationally for the week ending May 28, according to data from Datasembly – that’s up 4 percent from the week before

An almost empty baby formula shelf at a grocery store in New York City is pictured on May 31

Georgia is the hardest hit at 94 percent, up from 74 percent the week before.

In an effort to curb the shortage, the FDA has worked to make it easier for foreign-produced baby formula to be imported.

Meanwhile Biden’s administration announced Friday it would bring in 1.3 million cans of Gerber formula from Mexico beginning next month.

The February shutdown of the largest formula factory in the country led to the supply problems that have forced some parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor’s offices.

The company’s recalls and shutdown triggered a cascade of effects. Retailers have limited customer purchasing to conserve supplies and parents have been told to switch brands to whatever formula is in stock.