Ad Aug 1965 -
actress Susan Dey ad,
1970 - gymnast Mary Lou
Retton ad, 1986 - ad,
British, 1994 (the thong advantage)
See more Tampax items:
American ad from August
1965 - nudity in an ad: May 1992 (United
Kingdom) - a sign
advertising Tampax during World War II - the
original patent
- an instruction
sheet from the 1930s
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).
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The former brick-and-mortar
Museum of Menstruation
Ad, Tampax,
Glamour magazine, France
July-August, 1991
Here we go again!
France outundressing
America! And with that iconic
American invention, Tampax!
During a time when women around
the world often never showed their
faces, the French woman below shows
everything - well, almost,
anyway.
Um, famous French couture and
non-couture.
And it wasn't the first time. See
some ads for Modess pads here and
here.
Wait, isn't Modess short for modest?
Somehow, the ad combines
discretion with nudity.
Successfully.
Vive la
France!
Although an American osteopath
invented Tampax, a German woman
immigrant to America was the president
of the first company selling Tampax in
America (read some history)
and that tampon itself might have
reached Germany around the time Hitler
came to power; the Dutch and the
French had it by 1938 (ads and the
French Tampax
here).
But Americans at least have had
trouble accepting tampons from the
beginning, what with worrying about virginity,
whether the little devils would get
lost and whether they're safe or not
(see a newspaper campaign against Rely and the
infamous tampon
itself).
The main tampon in Europe for
decades was o.b., which had no
applicator (see an early folder).
Like probably most American women,
some Germans didn't like sticking
their fingers into their bleeding
vaginas, teeming with even more
bacteria than usual because of the
alkalinity of menstrual blood (read
more here).
Tampax is famous for promoting
freedom from inconvenience; read the humor page
for how that tampon can help people
ride bicycles and swim, even if they
aren't women.
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Below:
The full-page ad measures 8 1/4x11"
(21x27.9 cm).
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My
translation:
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What's more discreet than
Tampax? Good question.
Once in place, the Tampax tampon swells in
breath and width, taking the anatomical
form. And one would be wrong to forget at
what point Tampax thus assures perfect
protection.
Completely reliable protection: in order
to adapt to the size of your flow, Tampax
gives you the choice of four degrees of
absorption.
What's more discreet than Tampax? That was
a really good question.
TAMPAX
And life goes on.
[Coupon for a guide to menstruation. and
"Tampax will send you free a box of 10
mini tampons and a little carrier for
them."]
[Lowest left-hand text blocks:]
What's more discreet than what's
invisible? Once in place, it would be
wrong to forget how that changes
everything.
The tightest, the shortest: Tampax allows
you to wear your favorite outfit. You
don't lose your right to be bold just
because you're having your period. [Or
NOT to wear your favorite outfit
(picture).]
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