Compare the "Silent
Purchase" Modess ad (June 1928), the
American "Modess . . . .
because" ads, a Modess ad from 1931, the French Modess, and
the German "Freedom"
(Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See a mostly complete
list of pad
ads (and tampon
ads) and underpants
& panties on this site.
See a prototype of
the first Kotex ad.
See more Kotex items: Ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog)
- Marjorie May's Twelfth
Birthday (booklet for girls, 1928,
Australian edition; there are many links here to
Kotex items) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing
disposal method -
box from about 1969 -
Preparing for Womanhood
(1920s, booklet for girls) - "Are
you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - See
more ads on the Ads for
Teenagers main page
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Kotex menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1953
Modess menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1930
Concealing the pad 23
years apart
In order to sell something companies
find out what people want and give
that to them.
In America women have usually wanted
to hide the fact that they're
menstruating (some
cultures want the public to know
that women are menstruating).
Modess and Kotex, the major
competitors for the menstrual pad
market through much of 20th century
America, assure women in these ads
that no one will see the pad when
wearing closely fitting clothing.
'Twould be the end of the world if
anyone did - how horrible to be human!
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Below:
This 1953 large (10.5 x 14" - about 27
x 35.5 cm) color ad from Modess's main
competitor is less stylish than the
usual Modess ad. The title and text
and picture speak to the concern women
have had in America about other people
knowing they are menstruating. The
confidant model - smiling, hands on
hips, wearing her semi-tight "new
Jamaica length" shorts - worries not a
bit unless - unless - the darn thing
comes unhooked from her belt. Panties with
a special holder were safer.
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Below:
Click to see
Kotex promoting the same concern 23
years earlier.
And See a
Modess ad from 1931, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom"
(Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
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See a Modess ad from
1931, the French Modess, and
the German "Freedom"
(Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See a mostly complete
list of pad
ads (and tampon
ads) and underpants
& panties on this site.
© 2007 Harry Finley. It is illegal to
reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in
any manner or medium without written permission
of the author. Please report
suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org
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