OMO Arabia – in collaboration with MullenLowe MENA, Current Global and Milkshake Media – has launched ‘The Art of Stains’ campaign to communicate a critical message about period care to women in the Middle East through a culturally sensitive partnership with Henna artists.
By blending ancient Henna artistry with essential knowledge, OMO’s The Art of Stains campaign channels a crucial, powerful, discreet and deeply personal conversation starter through a culturally ingrained tradition.
OMO’s existing enzyme-rich formulation is designed to effectively tackle tough stains, providing a reliable solution for everyday care.
The three Henna designs follow the three-step process for effectively removing period stains: often with cold water, wash with OMO, rinse in cold water.
Addressing a crucial conversation in a discreet, culturally sensitive manner
Unfortunately, discussions around health concerns and how to address period care are still stigmatised globally, often whispered or avoided altogether. Recent research indicates that:
- 72 per cent of women believe that period care and stains still cannot be openly discussed.
- 58 per cent of women worldwide feel embarrassed by their period.
- Only 27 per cent of schools globally provide education on menstrual health and hygiene.
- 70 per cent of women have thrown away clothes or bed sheets due to period stains that could not be removed.
OMO recognised that Henna salons are more than beauty spaces, they are intimate sanctuaries where women connect, share stories and uphold tradition. To help women, OMO partnered with skilled Henna artists to create bespoke designs that discreetly weave in essential period care information.
These intricate patterns don’t just adorn hands, they embed knowledge, ensuring that vital stain-removal techniques are passed directly into the hands of the women who need them most.
To explore this topic, OMO and MullenLowe MENA spoke with real women who bravely spoke about their experiences and shared advice.
DISCLAIMER:
To protect their privacy, some names and details have been withheld. To respect cultural sensitivities and ensure the film remains suitable for all audiences, some portions have been carefully edited or censored while maintaining the integrity of the real conversations.
Rollout of OMO and MullenLowe MENA’s The Art of Stains campaign
The campaign film captures raw, unscripted conversations with Henna artists, women who understand both the beauty of tradition and the burden of silence. As they create intricate designs, they weave in knowledge, turning Henna into a tool for education, empowerment and long-overdue conversation.
The designs were carefully handcrafted by skilled Henna artists, intricately woven into traditional patterns to remain discreet. This ensured that vital stain removal information was subtly embedded within the Henna itself, allowing knowledge to be passed quite literally into the hands of the women who needed it most.
Tati Lindenberg, Chief Brand Officer of Dirt Is Good and Head of Unilever Fabric Cleaning, said, “At OMO, we’ve always believed that every stain tells a story. Some are joyful, some are messy and some run deeper. The ‘Art of Stains’ has been developed to help raise the issue of period stains as well as provide information and education about how to remove them in a way that is culturally relevant.”
A multi-platform movement: the message doesn’t stop at Henna salons, it continues onto digital platforms, ensuring knowledge reaches more women than ever before.
- Interactive Snapchat Lenses allow users to virtually apply the Henna designs, turning hands into an educational tool.
- Custom-made Henna kits are being distributed to artists nationwide and are available for download on OMO Arabia’s website, encouraging women to continue the conversation in their own spaces.
Prerna Mehra, Executive Creative Director – MullenLowe MENA, said, “Every great idea resonates because it addresses a real need, and this one was no exception. The creative challenge wasn’t just about raising awareness, it was about how to do it in a way that felt deeply ingrained, personal, and accepted.”
Mehra added, “That’s how ‘The Art of Stains’ was born. Instead of breaking tradition, we spoke through it, using henna as a medium for knowledge. We trained henna artists to discreetly weave stain-removal techniques into their intricate designs. Women’s hands became canvases of information, turning an unspoken topic into something seen, understood, and embraced.”
CREDITS:
Client: Unilever
- Tati Lindenberg – Chief Brand Officer of Dirt Is Good and Head of Unilever Fabric Cleaning
- Daniela Olivero – Global Marketing Director
- Ritika Jalota – Global Marketing Manager
- Sophie VanDieren – Global Assistant Marketing Manager
- Sarah Qazi – Arabia Business Lead, Homecare
- Aisha Kandil – Arabia Fabric Clean Marketing Manager
Agency: MullenLowe MENA
- Mounir Harfouche – Chief Executive Officer
- Paul Banham – Chief Creative Officer
- Prerna Mehra – Executive Creative Director
- Elena Soloveva – Senior Copywriter
- Timur Abdiusheev – Senior Art Director
- Mohamed Elhado – Arabic Copywriter
- May Al Jafar – Bilingual Copywriter
- Walaa Haidar – Senior Arabic Copywriter
- Fatima Alsuwaidi – Junior Art Director
- Hamdan Ali – Cinematographer
- Pravesh Pandey – Senior VFX Motion Graphic Artist
- Damayanti Purkayastha – Head of Strategy
- Smiljanic Cameo – Senior Account Director
- Eduardo ‘Duda’ Salles – Global Creative Director
- Will Dixon – Global Category Director
- Ross Marshall – Global Brand Director
- Rachael Stets – Global Planning Director
- Sana Mohammed Talha – Illustrator and Henna Artist
- Roksar Kamal – PR Manager, MCN
- Lara De Souza – Senior Manager, Creative Excellence, MCN
PR: Current Global MENAT
- Sinead O’Connor – Senior Director, Client Experience, Current Global
- May Hajouj – Senior Associate, Integrated Media
- Aastha Chaurasia – Associate, Integrated Media
Production Team: Milkshake Media
- Dania Bdeir – Director
- Dev Vaswani – Executive Producer
- Mayssa Sawma – Senior Producer
- Kimaya Parikhb Producer
- Elias Trad – DOP
- Sabrina Raynas – Photographer
