Ads on Pads
Building period equity one pad at a time.
Ads on Pads is a social enterprise that increases access to free and more sustainable period products by placing ads on their packaging (informally known as {p}advertising). The business was created for one reason: to give people with periods the chance to access free products, because if toilet paper is free and available in public bathrooms, why can’t period products be too? It would surely work to help the 50% of women in Aotearoa who have struggled to afford period products – an extremely sobering statistic for 2025.
Hula’s mission was simple: make Ads on Pads look so good that {p}advertisers couldn’t resist working with them and people with periods couldn’t help but take them.
One of the things Ads on Pads is trying to do is make the topic of periods less taboo. So as a starting point, we knew the Ads on Pads brand would likely be a text-heavy one that would educate as much as advocate. We knew we needed an element of surprise that would complement (and not clash with) the {p}advertisers and stockists that Ads on Pads were working with.
Enter the brace brackets {}. Together they resembled the very thing we were championing {sanitary products} whilst also creating a space for humour, advocacy and brands to live.
We also knew we wanted the Ads on Pads palette to be one that you can’t blink and miss. We veered away from the deep crimson colours of other period-championing brands and leaned into unique bright, provocative colours that make your eyes widen in delight. It’s disruptive and charmingly disarming.
We carry this feeling with us in everything we do. From our positively disruptive statements to our punky hand-drawn characters and icons. Ads on Pads is a brand that you can’t help but admire.
Ads on Pads isn’t on a mission for the few, but for the many – regardless of socioeconomic status. As of June 2025, Ads on Pads has given away over 100,000 period products, providing people with periods throughout Aotearoa with free, biodegradable pads.
They’re smashing stigma at workplaces, festivals and universities across Aotearoa, working alongside stockists and {p}advertisers to give out free, branded products. Some {p}advertising partners and stockists include: Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand, Jucy Campers and University of Auckland.
