Two very French ads for Modess: 1970s? - 1972, photo by David Hamilton
See a prototype of the first Kotex ad.
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)
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | 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.

 

Vania sanitary napkin ad, France
October 1994
2-page ad crossing the gutter of
20 Ans magazine

Peat moss (dead sphagnum moss) inside

Well, well, well, well - like, Vania Ultra thinks it's unique in the world, does it?

Zut!! Those Medusa eyes betray Vania's bluff even as her grimace tempts you to read the text! STAAAARRRRE AT ME! BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ!! VANIA HIRED ME TO SUCK YOU IN!! FOOLS!

This tiny creature knows as much as you do about pads!

Whew, effective writing, huh? Let my brain re-oxygenate.

Actually, the French Vania Ultra probably worked well with the sphagnum inside, soaking up the you-know-what. And with those nifty wings and anatomical shape and valley down the center.

But at least one other commercial pad destroys Vania's claim to discovery (read the text of the ad, below): SFAG-NA-KINS, which appeared in America in 1919 right after the war that might have introduced sphagnum moss on a large scale for the first time, in wound dressings - and maybe in menstrual pads. And in France.



The Sphagnum Moss Girl's sleepy eyes say, "Ho, hum, so what's so new about moss?"
Below: Each page measures 8 1/2 x 11 1/4" (21.6 x 28.6 cm).
My translation:



You can try crazy things but with a sanitary napkin you have to choose security.

Vania discovered in nature a plant so absorbent that it holds 29 times its weight in liquid. [Wiki says 16-26 times - and a lot more about this moss.] That plant is sphagnum [peat] moss. Vania put some sphagnum in the new Vania Ultra. Result: the liquid is absorbed, diffused, captured. With Vania Ultra, security and discretion are guaranteed. And what's more, Vania Ultra is this thin: only 2 mm. So hurry and try Vania Ultra.  Trying some things can change your life!

Vania Ultra. An absorption system unique in the world.

Two very French ads for Modess pads: 1970s? & 1972, photo by David Hamilton
See some American "Modess . . . . because" ads, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.

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