Compare a French Modess ad, a German
ad, and another French ad featuring just a man!
And see a Modess . . . . because pad
dispenser from the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.).
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 . . . . because ads, part 1 (parts
2, 3)
Modess sanitary napkins conducted a famous advertising campaign from
1948 to the 1970s in the U.S.A. Usually the only words were "Modess . . . . because." Advertising journals
of the time occasionally made fun of the series; sometimes they praised
it. In a sense, the unfinished phrase summed up the American public's feelings
about menstruation: It's something it couldn't talk
about! Read a Johnson & Johnson inside
account of the origin of this campaign.
Nevertheless, these are probably the most elegant
ads ever made for menstrual products.
Compare a
French ad for Modess
from probably the 1970s; a German one from 1990; and two ads for German
o.b. tampons to see photos America would never
dare show in advertising for menstrual hygiene. They show a more open French
and German attitude toward the body; the body is NOT unspeakable!
I believe the woman in the October 1948 ad is the famous model Barbara Hutton.
There are many large files and they download
slowly!!
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1948 |
The donor of this ad said it came from the late 1940s and
portrays the famous model Suzi Parker. The donor cut off the bottom part,
which contained the words "Modess . . . . because." Note the selective
fuzzing of the image, sometimes done by putting petroleum jelly on the parts
of the camera lens.
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October 1948. This model is perhaps Barbara Hutton.
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March 1949
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1950
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1951
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May 1952
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1953
This does not follow exactly the format of the others, but
it does have the because in the same style.
The text reads:
New design Modess is wrapped in a whisper-soft
fabric that's smooth, gentle . . . cannot chafe . . . stronger, more absorbent
than gauze!
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1954
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Next (page 2)
Pages 2, 3 of Modess . . . . because ads
Compare a French Modess ad, a German
ad, and another French ad featuring just a man!
And see a Modess . . . . because pad dispenser from the Smithsonian Institution.
© 1999 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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