(Johnson & Johnson) Modess ads: "Silent Purchase," June 1928; another from 1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See other marketing devices: Ad-design contest for menstrual products in the United Kingdom; B-ettes tampon counter-display box and proposal to dealers, with contract; (U.S.A., donated by Procter & Gamble, 2001); "Your Image is Your Fortune!," Modess sales-hints booklet for stores, 1967 (U.S.A., donated by Tambrands, 1997)
See a Modess True or False? ad in The American Girl magazine, January 1947, and actress Carol Lynley in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955) - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates).
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Ad for Nupak menstrual pads
(November 1926, U.S.A., made by Johnson & Johnson)

Most women seem not to like menstruating very much, and manufacturers of menstrual products have tried to make their products reduce the discomfort, mental and physical, that these women experience.

"Daintiness" is not usually associated with menstruation, but many women want to feel connected with this very feminine trait, perhaps especially when menstruating (the ultimate association, by name anyway, is the "Daintette" menstrual cup, from Dainty Maid, Inc.; inserting, removing, emptying and cleaning a menstrual cup are not the daintiest acts in the world, in spite of the name, which "euphemizes" the acts.)

Read Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's report to Johnson & Johnson about what women looked for and avoided in pads and related apparel in the 1920s in America, and how this changed pad design (American women apparently couldn't buy commercial tampons until the early 1930s.)

I don't believe we see "dainty" very much today in advertising for women's products, probably because it sets women off too much from the rough world of work, which they are more a part of, and want to be a part of (at least many of them do), nowadays.

 

 

"Daintiness" is in the headline and the body of the text. I think the word, which no one would associate with menstruation, tries to elevate the subject to comfort women. The woman's stylized Art-Deco face, of course, has nothing to do with menstruation, but with being in fashion.
The small words at the bottom are
Nupak is easy to buy. The name is
easy to say[,] easy to remember. Ask
for Nupak at your drug store. Priced
at sixty cents per box of one dozen.

[The same or about the same price as Kotex.]
Both Johnson & Johnson and Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kotex, started out as bandage manufacturers, thus the cross in the ad, which also gives a medical connection and thus assurance - somehow.
Read about named persons writing ad text or giving advice, as above.

In 1927, Dr. Lillian Gilbreth gave a report to Johnson & Johnson (read two excerpts, below) about what women wanted in menstrual pads and accessories. She rated Nupak better than many, music to J&J ears, since it made them. I have a feeling nothing got by her, and she didn't write to please.

 

 


For more daintiness, see a Nupak ad from 1927 and a Kotex ad from 1932. (Johnson & Johnson) Modess ads:
"Silent Purchase," June 1928; another from 1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French Modess,
and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.

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