(Johnson & Johnson) Modess ads: "Silent
Purchase," June 1928; another from 1928,
1931,"Modess . . .
. because" ads, the French Modess,
and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
See other marketing devices: Ad-design
contest for menstrual products in the United
Kingdom; B-ettes tampon counter-display box and
proposal to dealers, with contract; (U.S.A., donated by Procter & Gamble,
2001); "Your Image is Your Fortune!,"
Modess sales-hints booklet for stores, 1967 (U.S.A., donated by Tambrands,
1997)
See a Modess True or False? ad in The American
Girl magazine, January 1947, and actress Carol Lynley
in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter" booklet ad (1955) - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates).

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Ad for Nupak menstrual pads
(November 1926, U.S.A., made by Johnson & Johnson)
Most women seem not to like menstruating very much, and manufacturers
of menstrual products have tried to make their products reduce the discomfort,
mental and physical, that these women experience.
"Daintiness" is not usually associated
with menstruation, but many women want to feel connected with this very
feminine trait, perhaps especially when menstruating (the ultimate association,
by name anyway, is the "Daintette" menstrual
cup, from Dainty Maid, Inc.; inserting, removing, emptying and cleaning
a menstrual cup are not the daintiest acts in the world, in spite of the
name, which "euphemizes" the acts.)
Read Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's report to Johnson
& Johnson about what women looked for and avoided in pads and related
apparel in the 1920s in America, and how this changed pad design (American
women apparently couldn't buy commercial tampons
until the early 1930s.)
I don't believe we see "dainty" very much today in advertising
for women's products, probably because it sets women off too much from the
rough world of work, which they are more a part of, and want to be a part
of (at least many of them do), nowadays.
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"Daintiness" is in the headline and the body of
the text. I think the word, which no one would associate with menstruation,
tries to elevate the subject to comfort women. The woman's stylized Art-Deco
face, of course, has nothing to do with menstruation, but with being in
fashion.
The small words at the bottom are
Nupak is easy to buy. The name is
easy to say[,] easy to remember. Ask
for Nupak at your drug store. Priced
at sixty cents per box of one dozen.
[The same or about the same price as Kotex.]
Both Johnson & Johnson and Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kotex,
started out as bandage manufacturers, thus the cross
in the ad, which also gives a medical connection and thus assurance - somehow.
Read about named persons
writing ad text or giving advice, as above.
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In 1927, Dr. Lillian Gilbreth
gave a report to Johnson & Johnson (read
two excerpts, below) about what women wanted in menstrual pads and
accessories. She rated Nupak better than many, music to J&J ears, since
it made them. I have a feeling nothing got by her, and she didn't write
to please.
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For more daintiness, see a Nupak ad from 1927 and a Kotex ad from 1932. (Johnson & Johnson) Modess ads:
"Silent Purchase," June 1928; another
from 1928, 1931,"Modess . . . . because" ads, the French
Modess,
and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark)
for teens.
© 2000 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce
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