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Ad for Pursettes menstrual tampons, April 1959
Pursettes, an American tampon from the 1950s-1970s, experimented more
with its ads than most other menstrual products companies. Besides making
full-page cartoon (October
1974) and facsimile testimonial (September 1972, August 1973)
ads, it dared to bore readers with the ad below, a mass of text with a generic
photo telling about its origins. In this it is the opposite of the "Modess
. . . . because" ads, a mass of photo with text that repeated through
three decades (see some examples).
By the way, some facts in the first column are
incorrect, something common in menstrual advertising. There had been
disposable pads before the 1920s (Johnson & Johnson's Lister's Towels
in the 1890s and possibly Curads pads -
and maybe others); and you are left with the impression that all tampons
had applicators; most tampons (for example, fax,
which didn't even have a string!) in the 1930s did not have applicators,
just like Pursettes. But it's true that twisting and binding were still
problems with pads and that the majority of women didn't want to use tampons
(read the "Dickinson Report" about
these problems).
Tambrands generously gave the ad to the museum as part of a great
gift. Note that someone from that company wrote
in the upper-right and lower-left corners.
I cybersliced the ad to make it down load faster,
but it's still a long download!
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© 2000 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute
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