See other o.b. ads: See other o.b. ads: French (ooo.ooo.b., 1989) - German (nude, 1970s) - German (1970s) - German nude (1970s) - French (1989) - Dutch 2005
German Camelia ad (1920s) - German Camelia ad right before World War ll - German Camelia ad touting disposal bag(1990s)
See a early Tampax ad (1936) - part of the original patent - the first box - more early commercial tampons
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Early ad for o.b. tampons (probably early 1950s; German, magazine unknown)

Europeans probably started using tampons after World War II, utilizing another contribution of American culture (see some pre-1940 American tampons), although the Tambrands company did send me a box of tampons with a French text and with a note saying it was from the 1930s. But let's ignore that.

I believe the o.b. tampon - o.b. stands for the German ohne Binde, meaning without [a menstrual] pad - was the first native European brand (the American company Johnson & Johnson bought it in the 1970s). It had no applicator, just like the first American tampons (Tampax made the first applicator, in 1936). I suspect European women thought that inserting their fingers into their vaginas was peanuts compared with the war they just went through - and the applicator-less tampons had to have been cheaper.

The ad comes from the book Die unpäßliche Frau, by Sabine Hering and Gudrun Maierhof (Pfaffenweiler, Germany, 1991).

 
I suspect the original ad is in color.
Translation: "The future of menstrual hygiene"["Damenhygiene" literally means "ladies' hygiene"]
"o.b." stands for "ohne Binde," German for "without [a] pad."
See other o.b. ads: French (ooo.ooo.b., 1989) - German (nude, 1970s) - German (1970s) - German nude (1970s) - French (1989)

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