See the contemporary P&G tampon Trust. See
the other tampons Procter & Gamble
sold around the time of Rely.
Read also the important following articles (issues listed) in the Rochester
(New York) Patriot newspaper, which
investigated Rely in 1975 and 1976, years before the toxic shock crisis:
23 July-5 August 1975 (front cover)
- 6-26 August 1975 - 11
December 1975-13 January 1976 - 1-14 September
1976) - a letter to a customer assuring her that
Rely was safe (April 1980) - and a letter from
Procter & Gamble (22 September 1980) announcing that it was stopping
distribution of Rely because of health concerns
And read Lynn Peril's series about these
and similar booklets!
See more Kotex items: First ad
(1921) - ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog)
- Lee Miller ads (first real person in amenstrual
hygiene ad, 1928) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday
(booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here
to Kotex items) - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s,
booklet for girls; Australian edition) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing
disposal method - box
from about 1969 - "Are you in the know?"
ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) -
See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
 
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Rely menstrual tampon: It Even Absorbed the Worry!
Radio ads promoting Rely
Radio ad telling women not to use Rely
The Rely tampon, apparently promoting the illness toxic
shock in a few users, killed and maimed scores of women in the U.S.A.
around 1980. Its maker, the Procter & Gamble Company, then took it off
the market. (Rely main page.)
Listen to three radio ads promoting
Rely tampons less than a year before the tampon left the market. Produced
by Benton And Bowles Inc. in 11/8/79. I thank this generous radio man for
sending them:
Mr. Finley--
The Rely radio spot brought back memories. I went through my collection
of spots and found three thirty seconds radio spots for Rely. If you would
like to hear them I can send them to you. I spent 17 years at a local AM/FM
station with my major job assignment was transferring commercials onto
the cartridges used in the air studios. . . .
I also have one for Cathy Rigby.
. . .
I have been enjoying your site for years -- your talents, time
and presentations are enjoyed by many
****
|
| Click for the first ad. |
| Click for the
second ad. |
| Click for third
ad. |
Listen to Procter & Gamble tell
radio listeners to stop using Rely because
of the risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS), probably in 1980 (and read the
letter P&G sent to dealers). The disc jockey
who recorded this wrote,
Harry,
Here is the spot.
I was a disc jockey on WSM-FM radio back in the day, and played this
on the air. It struck me as weird that I had never heard a spot where the
manufacturer asked you to stop using a product. Anyway, I ran off a tape
copy just for laughs, and still have it to this day. Now it's history.
****
Franklin, Tennessee
|
| Click for the spot telling
listeners not to use Rely. |
| Listen to Olympic gymnast
promote Stayfree pads on the radio (1982). |
It became the most famous tampon in history, after Tampax (see a very early Tampax.)
|
© 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
|