Ads for teenagers
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Modess Snipes at Kotex (U.S.A.),
October 1949
In October 1949, Modess and Kotex
published cartoon ads.
The Kotex
sanitary napkin ad, part of a
long series of advice-to-teenager ads
(see here
for more), speaks in a wise-guy teenage
slang, supposedly appealing
to teens of the time and reflecting
their speech. It brings to mind Frank Sinatra songs,
fast and tough.
But the Modess menstrual pad ad,
below, imitating the Kotex format,
scoffs at this speech and advice and
cattily advises kids (I assume the two
women are teenagers, below, although
they look about 35) that tactfulness
is the key. Note that in the ad and in
the booklet it promotes - Growing Up and
Liking It - there's little slang
and cutesiness. The booklet uses
drawings like the Kotex ad's, which
are much better than the drawing in
their ad, below, which I find a tad
strange.
The two companies were the main
producers of pads for menstruation at
this time, which probably explains the
static.
I broke the
ad into two parts to make it
download faster in an era of slow
connections.
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Notice how much is said
about secrecy
in the lower picture, a common
concern.
Read
the advertised booklet.
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See another Modess True or False? ad
(January 1947, from The American Girl
magazine) - Ads
for teenagers
© 1999 Harry Finley. It is
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