Behold, ladies, our monthly menstrual cycle really is a period. One tiny, tidy, perfectly round drop of blood in the middle of your ultrathin Always panty liner. Whew! That'll make cheerleading, swimming, and horseback riding, all in form-fitting white outfits, so much more doable. But with this print ad (see full-size version below), Leo Burnett Chicago hasn't made just any red dot. It's a breakthrough in feminine hygiene product advertising, a bold step away from decades of blue-liquid nonsense. Truly a historic moment, as Copyranter has pointed out. That said, I don't really know why the Always brand has bothered. Does this ad convey realism and empowerment, or just find a new way to minimize menstruation by making it look like the "You Are Here" dot on an airport map? Not that I, nor probably anyone, wants to see vampiric amounts of red ooze in pad ads. But for her epic coming out, Aunt Flow deserves better.