Compare the "Silent Purchase" Modess
ad (June 1928), the American "Modess . . . . because"
ads, a Modess ad from 1931, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
See a mostly complete list of pad ads (and tampon ads) and
underpants & panties on this site.
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 menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1930
Kotex menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1953
Concealing the pad 23 years apart
In order to sell something companies find out what people want and give
that to them.
In America women have usually wanted to hide the fact that they're menstruating
(some cultures want the public to know that women
are menstruating).
Modess and Kotex, the major competitors for the menstrual pad market
through much of 20th century America, assure women in these ads that no
one will see the pad when wearing closely fitting clothing. 'Twould be the
end of the world if anyone did - how horrible to be human!
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Below: This 1930 large (10.5 x 13.75"
- about 27 x 35 cm) black-and-white ad from Kotex's main competitor emphasizes
by picture and word the worry women had - and have - about hiding the fact
that they're menstruating. Look how the illustration exaggerates her height
and anore-, er, thinness, typical for fashion drawings, which elevates the
ad and menstruation itself (also here, another Art
Deco-ish creation). Modess was well known for its beautiful ads - see
the famous Modess . . . . because ads - but eventually
succumbed to Kotex. These huge (and wonderful) magazine pages (this one
from The Delineator) died during the oil crisis of the early 1970s.
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Below: Click
to see Kotex promoting the same concern 23 years later.
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NEXT: Kotex ad addressing
the same - eternal, at least in the U.S.A. - concern. See a Modess
ad from 1931, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
See a mostly complete list of pad
ads (and tampon ads) and underpants
& panties on this site.
© 2007 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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