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 sanitary napkins
conducted a famous advertising
campaign from the 1940s 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.
As you can see, the ad text
increased beyond its early
taciturnity. maybe the company
discovered it wasn't as effective
as they had wished for.
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 and 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!
There
are many large files and they
download slowly!!
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1956
This Modess ad
shows a "Modess . . . . because"
ad.
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May 1958
Ad copy: Discovery!
Discovery! FEMININE FABRIC
sheerest luxury
. . . perfected protection
make New Modess
your discovery this month
Modess . . . .
because
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1965
Ad copy: The Modess
Shield . . . safe, effective,
unobtrusive.
Here's why.
Across the bottom and up both
sides, under a soft outer
covering, a continuous shield of
blue polyethylene makes new
Modess the most protective
napkin. Modess . . . .because
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1966
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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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