See Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol menstrual pain pill ad, 1938 (U.S.A.) - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page

Famous women in menstrual hygiene advertising:
Carol Lynley - Lee Miller - Mary Lou Retton - Cathy Rigby - Cheryl Tiegs - Brenda Vaccaro

See also advertising for teenagers.

Menstrual pad suspenders!
See how a woman wore a belt in a Dutch ad. See a classy 1920s ad for a belt and the first ad (1891) MUM has for a belt.
See how women wore a belt (and in a Swedish ad). See a modern belt for a washable pad and a page from the 1946-47 Sears catalog showing a great variety.
More ads for napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
More ads for napkin belts: Sears, 1928 - modern belts - modern washable - Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
See the Kotex stick tampon.
See also a Saba Ad, Pursettes ad, Kotex "Are you in the know?" ads (1949)(1953)(1964), Ads for Teens, and some older Kotex ads
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special for you! - the American fax tampon, from the early 1930s, which also came in bags.
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:
homepageMUM 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.

colleens menstrual tampon (about 1961, U.S.A.)

This is an ad for colleens (judging from the ads, colleens was always written either all lower case or all upper case), which seemed to be an improved tampon. Mayfield Industries, the maker, was in Ft. Worth, Texas, U.S.A., and the ad probably appeared in publications around that area in the early 1960s. I do not know if colleens ever enjoyed big sales - or any sales. Tambrands, former maker of Tampax tampons, gave these two photocopies and an almost full-page ad to this museum, which are the only traces I have of the tampon.

Fading and discoloration make the photocopies and newspaper hard to read, and the last lines on this page are missing.

The first sentences, especially in the large ad, are advertising in all its glory; watch your wallet! Many new menstrual products promise the world at the beginning; many new products of any kind do that. But the first Tampax ad was justified more than most, I think, in claiming good things, even though there were tampons before it, because Tampax first marketed the applicator, invented by Dr. Earle Haas. Earlier tampons looked like today's o.b., in that they had no insertion device other than the finger - and one, fax, didn't even have a string!

Note the references to flowers, common in menstrual hygiene advertising (see it for a menstrual cup). The word flowers once meant menstruation (see here), although I doubt the ad writers knew this; flowers conceal what many women (and men) find objectionable, the fact and odor of menstruation.

Unfortunately, the ads never show the tampon itself, which a later era might have done.

Read the Dickinson report, which the ad mentions.

See a much bigger ad, with a more expansive message, but with a long download and a lot of scrolling! See a notice that women can now buy colleens in stores.

Long download! I cut the images into several pieces (on the computer only) to make them smaller.

See a much bigger ad, with a more expansive message, but with a long download and a lot of
scrolling!
See a notice that women can now buy colleens in stores.

© 1999 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or
medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org