• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, August 30, 2018

For the second consecutive year, Procter & Gamble’s Tampax and Always feminine protection products are partnering with an organization that sponsors an online dance competition for black college majorette teams across the country. 

The winning team gets $20,000 and, say the sponsors, the “uniform of your dreams.” 

The P&G brands are teaming with the HBCU Dance Corporation, a reference to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, where majorette teams have long performed intricate dances that would seem to challenge Paula Abdul. The dance routines have been a part of HBCU football game halftime shows for decades, and researchers say the tradition goes back further than that.

The #RadiantDanceOff contest -- Radiant is a Tampax and Always line extension -- runs from Oct. 8-22, during college football’s homecoming season, when HBCU majorettes strut their best stuff. Viewers can watch the routines online and vote for favorites.

The promotion also works with P&G’s campaign to equate feminine protection with confidence and with a worldwide movement to end what some have termed “period poverty” that makes it difficult for poorer women to get the products they need. 

he Always and Tampax involvement, also reinforces the idea that their brands allow women a free range exercise without concerns. Tampax has a long history of sometimes cringe-inducing ads that made the same pitch.

“In the survey we conducted as part of the HBCU Dance #RadiantDanceOff campaign, we found that a quarter of African-American women say they avoid dancing, and 4 out of 5 black women sacrifice their personal style while on their periods,” reports Melissa Suk, Tampax associate brand director, P&G feminine care, in a statement. “Through the contest, we aim to show women that with the right protection, periods shouldn’t cramp her style on or off the field; and she should be able to wear what she wants every day of the month.”