See a Tampax ad from the Netherlands, 1938. See a very early ad, 1936, U.S.A.
More Tampax items: First tampon with applicator (1931-33?) box, tampon, instructions - 1936: box, tampon, patent (with a short account of the invention of Tampax by Dr. Earle Haas, and of the first Tampax president, German immigrant Gertrude Tenderich), ad, instructions, dealer's instructions, dealers' advisory
See also Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol ad, 1938 - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
More Midol: Midol booklet (selections), 1959, and Midol ad, 1938
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepageMUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

 

Tampax menstrual tampon ad, !960s -1970s?, publication unknown
France
"Ni ceintures, Ni épingles, Ni odeur"
(No belts, No pins, No odor)
Compared with similar American ads

For decades Tampax ran black-and-white ads occupying one column of a page of American magazines. So did other countries as you see in the French ad right below.

Did a French ad agency write the text or did someone translate American words? Certainly the "No pins, no belts, no odors" was common to American Tampax advertising; Cashay tampons also promoted no pins and no belt. As you know - don't you? - pins and belts (and special underpants) held pads against women's bodies probably for centuries until something new appeared in the late 1970s. No, no, not for centuries against the same woman although it probably felt that way.

That new was pads with sticky backs, which appeared also in Europe around this time. This clues us to when this ad appeared. Why warn against a problem that doesn't exist? So the ad seems to have appeared before these adhesive pads were widely available. That would mean before 1975 or so.

Look at the picture of the Tampax box at the bottom of the ad. That pattern resembles the American Tampax boxes from the 1960s-1970s in this museum's archives (see an example at the bottom of this page).

See an early (1938) Tampax ad from the Netherlands (and some from France herself). My guess is that Tampax was the first commercial tampon in Europe, although women had made their own for decades and probably much longer.

Compare this ad with the American ones below it.


MEN, STAY AWAY!

"To be opened only by women" (written in German) announced this sealed 1950s German Tampax leaflet.
"A lady you must be or do not read this advertisement" reads this 1892 ad for Southall's sanitary towels.

See all tampon topics.

I thank the donor!

Below: Compare this ad with similar American ads, below.
My translation into English, below:



Full-time protection for full-time work

Being a mama is full-time work.
With its moments of cuddling and its moments of frantic action when you don't have time to breathe.

During your period you need full-time protection. Above all if you're a mother very occupied with an active child. You need the total assurance of Tampax tampons, worn internally.

You forget they're there. You don't see them. No one can detect an odor. It's as easy to put them in as it is to take them out. They help you feel fresh even when you're sweating and tired.

[black box] No belts
No pins
No odor

The trustworthy protection of Tampax tampons helps you feel good on the move. And helps you fully enjoy the moments of cuddling your child.

The internal protection that reassures more and more women.

Invented by a male doctor
Used by millions of women

Sanitary protection worn internally
Tampax tampons are made solely by Tampax France - 37300 Joué-les-Tours


Below: The ad on the reverse is "and I promised Mom --," my copy having appeared in 1943. So that would place this ad about from that time. Publication unknown.
At the bottom of the ad it mentions a Regular Tampax (1938, front of box ), Junior Tampax (1939-40, box, tampon, instructions), and a Super Tampax (1939-40, front of box), which Tambrands kindly donated.
Below: "20 years ago" probably means 1936, when Tampax seems to have come on the market widely. That would date this ad to 1956 or maybe a little earlier. Publication unknown.
 

See all tampon topics. See "Are Vaginal Tampons Prejudicial to Health?" (Proof for a British Tampax ad, 1952) - Tampax brochure, Germany, probably early 1950s - a Tampax ad from the Netherlands, 1938. See a very early ad, 1936, U.S.A.
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