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
Ads for the Kotex stick tampon (U.S.A., 1970s) - a Japanese stick tampon from the 1970s.
Early commercial tampons - Rely tampon - Meds tampon (Modess)
DIRECTORY of all topics (See also the SEARCH ENGINE, bottom of page.)
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links: homepage | LIST OF ALL TOPICS | 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.

Modess . . . . because ads, part 2 (parts 1, 3)

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!!

 

 

1956
This Modess ad shows a "Modess . . . . because" ad.
May 1958 
Ad copy: Discovery! Discovery! FEMININE FABRIC
sheerest luxury . . . perfected protection
make New Modess your discovery this month
Modess . . . . because

 

 

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

1966

Next (page 3)
Modess . . . . because ads parts 1, 3

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
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of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org