Other Modess ads: another from
1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French
Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
 
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Menstrual pad ad, February 1929 (Johnson & Johnson, U.S.A.)
"Mother . . . don't be quaint"
Modess appeared in the 1920s, a challenger to Kotex
and many other companies fighting for the disposable pad market, which was
drawing women away from washable pads; commercial
menstrual tampons hadn't appeared yet. A
famous efficiency expert helped Modess in the
battle.
One weapon was humor, unusual at this time (see some later humor). The ad below was part of a series showing how "modern"
girls dragged their mothers into 1929. Their mothers were so 19th
century!
They had to hurry: the stock market would crash
in a few months.
Modernizing Mother Episodes #3, #5
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Below: The odd lighting
runs through the ad series - maybe a carryover from the stage,
popular before TV; films were in their youth.
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Below: So, what's
Daughter doing? Putting beauty marks
on Mother's face (is that what's on her own face?) while Mom's heart flutters?
What's that in her hand? What's that lump right below her wrist - a lipoma?
Actually, I think it's a reflection in the mirror behind her.
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Below: The fact that the three marks (see
the arrows) were screened before printing (indicated by the thickened dots)
means they aren't just dirt on the plate before being printed but intentional - at least that's how I interpret them.
So are they then beauty marks? Ah, the piercings of
yesteryear!
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