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.
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!
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1973
This might be one
of the last ads; the signature ad
copy, at the beginning, has
changed. The copy reads,
Modess more than
ever . . . [note that there
are only three dots here,
instead of the usual four. When
an ad campaign fizzles out, it
does so in small ways.] because
Today's Modess
is the most protective Modess
there ever was. Cradled in
moisture-proofing. Channeled
deep in its softness to absorb
faster, to protect you better.
Flushable [!] if you want it.
With deodorant protection, of
course. In more than one shape
and size, because you're nobody
else, nobody else but you.
Modess, more
than ever . . . because.
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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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