Other Modess ads: another from 1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
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
 
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Early Modess menstrual pad ads, 1927-28
Newspapers, U.S.A.
Modess, which Johnson & Johnson made to compete with Kotex,
developed at least partly from the research of Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, the
famous efficiency expert and center of the book and film Cheaper
by the Dozen. She wrote a report (here)
to Johnson & Johnson in January, 1927, that uncovered women's desires
and dislikes about menstrual pads. J&J seems to have taken her recommendations
seriously - simple box design is one - as you
can see in these ads and here.
Note the cross, typical of early menstrual supplies. Both Johnson &
Johnson and Kimberly-Clark, which made Kotex, made bandages before menstrual
pads so you can see a connection. (See a Kotex cross.)
But the cross exphasized the medical connection and "bandaging a wound."
A retired teacher kindly sent the electronic files of the ads.
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Below: from The Syracuse [New York] Herald,
July 12, 1927.
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Next early ad.
Other Modess ads: another from 1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French
Modess,
and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
© 2006 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work
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