Compare the "Silent Purchase" Modess ad (June 1928), the American "Modess . . . . because" ads, a Modess ad from 1931, the French Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See a mostly complete list of pad ads (and tampon ads) and underpants & panties on this site.
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)
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.

Kotex menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1953
Modess menstrual pad ad, U.S.A., 1930
Concealing the pad 23 years apart

In order to sell something companies find out what people want and give that to them.

In America women have usually wanted to hide the fact that they're menstruating (some cultures want the public to know that women are menstruating).

Modess and Kotex, the major competitors for the menstrual pad market through much of 20th century America, assure women in these ads that no one will see the pad when wearing closely fitting clothing. 'Twould be the end of the world if anyone did - how horrible to be human!
Below: This 1953 large (10.5 x 14" - about 27 x 35.5 cm) color ad from Modess's main competitor is less stylish than the usual Modess ad. The title and text and picture speak to the concern women have had in America about other people knowing they are menstruating. The confidant model - smiling, hands on hips, wearing her semi-tight "new Jamaica length" shorts - worries not a bit unless - unless - the darn thing comes unhooked from her belt. Panties with a special holder were safer.
 
Below: Click to see Kotex promoting the same concern 23 years earlier.
And See a Modess ad from 1931, the French Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
 

See a Modess ad from 1931, the French Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See a mostly complete list of pad ads (and tampon ads) and underpants & panties on this site.

© 2007 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in
any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report
suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org