I'm copy-pasting the mail here:
P&G's reply to my query:
We appreciate your taking the time to share your concern with us. It is really amazing to know that you have chosen Whisper for your personal hygiene needs, thank you so much for your trust and faith. We grateful to you for sharing your valuable thought with us. For a company like P&G, consumer satisfaction is utmost important and we always are thankful to consumers for reaching out with their queries and providing us an opportunity to assist.
P&G products have made a name for themselves by combining “what’s needed” with “what’s possible”.
When Always – a brand of feminine hygiene products by Procter & Gamble (P&G) first introduced in the United States, United Kingdom and France in 1983 – set foot in India and rest of Asia, the brand chose to be sold under the name 'Whisper'. Why Whisper? Because this name reflected the prevalent scenario of those days where one woman could discuss her menstruation related problems with another woman only by ‘whispering’ it to her!
Since the launch in the Indian market in 1989, Whisper has continuously worked towards educating women about using sanitary napkins over cloth towels. Apart from television and print advertising, Whisper educates girls on menstruation in schools through its Mother Daughter Menstrual Hygiene Program.
We have always believed that sanitary napkins should not be a product or category shrouded in silence and taboos. Our latest campaigns bring to life the role that every whisper of encouragement plays and has played in breaking the silence around periods. We salute millions of teachers, fathers, mothers, elder sisters or best friends who’ve broken silences with words of encouragement. We hope this will enable more girls to break the silence around their periods and bring out the strength, talent and character.
We always rely on our consumers and love to hear their feedbacks related to product and its performance. The question you have raised is very important for us and we understand that there is always a scope for improvement and changes hence please be assured your feedback will be shared with the relevant team for considerations and we are hoping for the positive results.
My reply to the above mail:
I understand that Whisper has made a name for itself for decades to come. But the times are changing, it is also imperative to adapt to the dynamic trends for anything to survive (especially consumer products).
As for the brand name one of my petition supporters (I had started a campaign at change.org to rename whisper and have gained 1000+ signatures in 10 days - refer to the petition's link and images attached at the end of this mail) had suggested "DO NOT WHISPER" instead of whisper and it also won't affect your brand name rather would have a radical influence on society. Of course India's top sanitary ware brand would be blessed with talented, creative heads who can come up with alternative names (for whisper) without downgrading its reach among consumers.
Needless to say Hindustan Unilever renamed its 45 years old beauty product "fair & lovely"(since 1975) to "Glow & Lovely"(changed in 2020). A much older brand and a brand owned by a company hailing from a developing nation (INDIA) can bring about such a change; I don't get what's stopping a younger brand whisper (since 1983 as you've mentioned) and a company hailing from the USA - the world super power from making the change.
The change would be a great leap forward contributing to much greater awareness and busting menstrual taboos.
I kindly request you to take my concern to the top authorities and make this change not just in India but all over the world where your brand is established.
Thank you for replying to my message. I appreciate it.
A follow-up update:
I've recently discovered that Whisper is known by different names across countries. For instance, "Always" in the US. So I don't see a reason why the name can't be changed in India.
As an individual, by sharing the petition/campaign (rename whisper) across social media domains I was able to influence 1000s. But if you as a corporate giant having billions of consumers worldwide could execute this change, then that would be a huge revolution like how Hindustan Unilever made the news by changing its brand fair & lovely to glow & lovely striking racism at its arm.
Effecting this change shouldn't be a huge shot in the arm for you as you already have addressed remarkable social measures like 'Keeping Girls in School Program' in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and India for many years; “ Whisper MobileShaala” to Keep Girls in School even when at home etc. These are huge and I admire your initiatives. But I'd also appreciate if you could address this regressive thought (whisper) about periods.
Expecting a reply ASAP.
Their response to my mail:
I have already shared your suggestion with the relevant team of P&G for their consideration and I hope for the positive results.