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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Modess menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1930
Kotex menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1953
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 1930 large (10.5 x 13.75" - about
27 x 35 cm) black-and-white ad from
Kotex's main competitor emphasizes by
picture and word the worry women had -
and have - about hiding the fact that
they're menstruating. Look how the
illustration exaggerates her height
and anore-, er, thinness, typical for
fashion drawings, which elevates the
ad and menstruation itself (also here,
another Art
Deco-ish creation). Modess was
well known for its beautiful ads - see
the famous Modess
. . . . because ads - but
eventually succumbed to Kotex. These
huge (and wonderful) magazine pages
(this one from The Delineator) died
during the oil crisis of the early
1970s.
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Below:
Click to see
Kotex promoting the same concern 23
years later.
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NEXT: Kotex ad addressing the same -
eternal, at least in the U.S.A. - concern.
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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