• by Karl Greenberg , April 14, 2010

Kimberly-Clark's Kotex brand is launching a new phase of "U by Kotex," one involving the Kardashians.

Last month's launch of the new feminine protection brand comprised several products designed for 14- to-24-year-olds and packaged to look more like cosmetic products than tampons.

The launch featured ads that made fun of the tampon-ad cliché of the menstrual period being a time to put on white gossamer gowns and dance on the beach. The company has begun a new phase of the campaign, a social-media push centering on it-girls the Kardashian sisters, stars of E!'s "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

The effort, developed with Web publisher BuzzMedia, includes a video series featuring Kris (the mother) and sisters Kim and Khloe. The five-video series is intended to express the idea that menstruation isn't something that one should be ashamed of or avoid talking about. The videos are running on the Kardashian's official Web sites and other BuzzMedia sites, including Celebuzz.com, Just Jared, and Whitney Port's official Web site.

Doug Rohrer, chief revenue officer for BuzzMedia, tells Marketing Daily that Kotex is involved in several Web sites that together garner some 10 million unique visits from 12- to 24-year-old females.

"The indices are through the roof against this demo, and we as a company are tied very closely with a young female demo across all of our sites." He says the Kardashians have a large following among young women, that Kim Kardashian's site is the most popular celebrity site on the Web, and that she has a million or so followers on Twitter. "The Kardashians are strong in about every area in which you can measure digital," he says.

One video has Mrs. Kardashian and the sisters introducing a series of videos of real people talking about what it was like to get their first period. Khloe Kardashian showed up for the launch event via Marina Maher Communications at New York's Madison Square Park, where she broke through a faux brick wall meant to evince the campaign tag-line "Break the Cycle."

Aida Flick, Kotex brand director, tells us that the effort was intended to get away from euphemisms about menstruation and speak honestly. "Girls today are watching reality TV -- learning about things online. You can't say 'down there' on TV, but you can see reality TV that shows just about everything....we have lost our connection to [girls and young women], so we wanted to poke fun at feminine care ads and start an open, honest conversation."

The new Web site UbyKotex.com has a "Get Real" theme with features such as a section called "The Straight Scoop" where girls can post questions, which are then answered by a nurse, a peer and a mom. Flick says the site, which has been up for "a couple of weeks," has gotten 700,000 views, 500,000 visitors interacting with the site, and 300,000 sample requests.

The effort includes a "Declaration of Real Talk" wherein Kotex has pledged a $1 donation to Girls For A Change for every woman who signs the Declaration online.