Other Modess ads: another from
1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens. Ad for "Growing Up and Liking
It" booklet (1963, Modess) - Actress Carol Lynley
in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955)
Meds tampon (Modess)
 
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Modess Menstrual Pad Ad, June 1929 (U.S.A.)
Pictorial Review magazine
"Never mind, Mother, you'll learn"
Humor in ads for menstrual pads seems to have been rare in the 1920s
and 1930s, Modess in particular creating some severely
stylish ads in contrast to the more realistic
Kotex offerings. And Modess later ran probably the most
stylish ads of all. (But Kotex could strut its stuff, although well
concealed [which was the point], in an ad like that showing Lee
Miller, later lover of Man Ray and a photographer of World War II for
Vogue magazine.)
As with an earlier ad in this series, a flapper
drags her middle-aged mother into the 1920s, just as Modess makes women
abandon washable pads (or rags) and its main competitor, Kotex. Read about
Modess's attempt to better compete with Kotex.
Golf requires money, which shows who saw this ad. Kotex had a similar audience. Poorer women still washed
their pads - as some even affluent ones do today.
And as with the other ad this is obviously staged even to the lighting,
which comes from at least two directions, unlikely outside.
I believe the two women are the same ones from the earlier production.
Finally: Is the daughter's hat too cloche for
comfort?
The page measures 10 1/4 x 13 7/8" (26.4 x 35.3 cm).
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Below: Notice the lighting, unlikely outside.
She sure is having fun at her mother's expense.
Those flappers were impossible!
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