Australian Government launches first national perimenopause campaign

The Australian Government has launched its first national campaign focused on perimenopause and menopause, with creative developed by Ogilvy.

The campaign, Could This Be Perimenopause?, is part of a broader push to de-stigmatise and normalise the physical and emotional symptoms many women experience during the life stage, while directing them to evidence-based information, support services and treatment options.

Targeting women aged 35 to 55, the campaign focuses on symptoms including sleep disturbance, brain fog, sudden sweats, anxiety and fatigue. It also aims to build awareness among younger women, health professionals and support networks.

The work was developed for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and will run nationally across TV, BVOD, out-of-home, social, audio, digital, Google search and integrated partnership channels until the end of 2026.

The campaign also includes a new government website with information and support services for perimenopause and menopause.

Fran Clayton, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy, said the campaign was designed to address the silence and confusion that has surrounded perimenopause and menopause for decades.

“The silence around perimenopause and menopause has carried a real cost. We’ve had decades of confusion, misdiagnosis, and suffering that women simply didn't need to face alone,” Clayton said.

“Our goal wasn't simply to raise awareness, but to reframe the experience. This campaign finds women in that 3am moment, wide awake, wondering if they're losing their mind, and says: we see you, this is a thing. Not to wrap it in a bow. Just to say it has a name, and there's support if you know where to look.”

The creative uses the “inner voice” of women experiencing symptoms, capturing the uncertainty many feel before connecting their experience to perimenopause.

Clayton said that recognition was central to the work.

“The voice at the heart of this creative is something many women will recognise. When ‘I thought it was just me’ becomes ‘oh my goodness, it's all of us’, that's when women start asking the right questions,” she said.

The campaign lands as women’s health continues to receive greater public and policy attention, with perimenopause and menopause increasingly discussed as workplace, healthcare and social issues rather than private experiences women are expected to manage quietly.

For marketers and agencies working in health behaviour change, the campaign also points to the role of plain-language creative in helping people identify symptoms that are often dismissed, misread or treated in isolation.

The Ogilvy-developed creative platform will connect with a broader communications program around perimenopause and menopause awareness developed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and its agency village, including Fiftyfive5, Universal McCann, Fenton, Cultural Perspectives, Carbon, Hall and Partners.

Strategy, creative and website design were led by Ogilvy Australia, with agency production by WPP Production. Revolver handled production, with Fiona McGee directing. Post-production was by The Editors and sound by WPP Production.