Bayer Global health campaign
“Over 1.5 billion women worldwide experience women's health issues, yet too many accept this suffering without realising its impact on their everyday lives”. This is the opening line of the film titled ‘Anything but Normal’ Bayer launched in partnership with VML health as part of it’s global health campaign last month. At the core of this campaign is challenging old narratives of what many women are told with dealing with menstrual pain and issues, menopause, puberty, and other health issues- that it is “normal”.
The caption shared with the video on Youtube shared that almost 1 in 2 women worldwide experience health issues like menstrual pain, heavy bleeding, and menopause symptoms, yet these are often dismissed as “normal.” The very creative and powerful film showcases the stories of five women that are painted to blend into their environments in different social settings such as eating out a restaurant, in a boardroom, in a bedroom with a partner, on a couch, and in a school. The women in these scenarios describe heavy period bleeding, sweating, sleeplessness, and feeling on fire during menopause, experiencing a lack of desire for sexual intimacy during perimenopause, sadness, and being alone, fear of unwanted pregnancy, experiencing cramps, agony and missing out during school activities. Each clip ends with variations of this question asked internally and silently.“Is this heavy period ‘normal’?”“Is it ‘normal’ that I suffer in silence?”“Is this quiet battle ‘normal’?”“Is this unbearable pain ‘normal’?”
So many of these symptoms and health conditions are carried quietly as discussing them is taboo and women have been conditioned to believe they should endure them rather than seek care. CEO of VML Health, Claire Gillis shared,
“This normalisation leads to silent endurance, where women reduce their expectations on quality of life rather than seeking care. We were delighted to work with Bayer to and fight for a future where women can live their lives without compromise as they reclaim their health and well-being by shifting the focus from endurance to empowerment.”
Beyond empowering women too not carry their pain and suffering silently the campaign also encouraged health care professionals to a second look behind “I’m fine”. VML shared, “The website plays a pivotal role, helping women move from recognition to action by offering practical tools, educational models and equipping them with the language, confidence, and support to effectively engage healthcare professionals. This integrated approach, amplified across social and paid media, provides a safe space for women to question, confront, and get ready to reclaim their health.”In addition to the opening statistic about the number of women worldwide who experience women's health issues, the campaign shared additional startling numbers that highlight the disparity between what women experience and the care, or lack thereof, of resources and education they receive regarding them. American Medical Journal shared, “it highlights menstrual pain impacts up to 93% of women, yet the severity is often overlooked, leading 20% of girls to skip school. This culture of endurance continues into later life stages. Roughly 80% of those navigating menopause endure hot flushes, while nearly 70% report chronic sleep disruption, the campaign finds. Furthermore, reproductive health remains a significant hurdle, with approximately 121 million pregnancies each year – nearly half of the global total – being unintended.”
The launch of the film was planned to coincide with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, February 11th, an observance to promote equal access to scientific careers for women and girls. This launch date also highlighted the need for better female representation in research and policy decisions, AMJ shared. Anything but Normal is more than a campaign. It is a powerful reframing of what women have been taught to accept. By naming the experiences so many have been conditioned to minimize, Bayer and VML Health challenge both the cultural norms and the systemic gaps in care. The film underscores a larger truth: when discomfort is normalized, it becomes invisible, and when it becomes invisible, it goes untreated.
Campaigns like this remind us that awareness, while a good starting point, must also be paired with access, education, and a shift in how both individuals and healthcare systems respond. For brands operating in the women’s health space, this sets a new standard: showing up not just with messaging, but with tools, language, and pathways to action.
Written by Hannah Lacy
Bio: Hannah Lacy is a digital content strategist with over seven years of experience in marketing and social media, and more than a decade of experience as a freelance writer contributing to various publications. A working mother of two school-aged children, she writes at the intersection of ambition and parenthood, with a passion for storytelling, advocating for working moms, and partnering with mission-driven brands and organisations.
Connect with her on LinkedIn or at hannahlacymedia@gmail.com.
