Tampax gave more technical advice in its 1950s Bulletins and Dr. Dickinson discussed the advantages
of tampons over pads in his 1945 report.
 
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MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
Tampax menstrual tampon ad, German, May 1989
Girl! magazine (yes, that's the title of the
German publication for, um, girls!)
"Can a tampon get lost in the body?"
(in translation)
Tampax seems to have conducted a multi-national campaign in 1989-1990
about questions beginners ask about tampons. But it also seems to have left
to ad agencies in the respective countries to design and write the text,
a good idea.
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Below: Compare the expressions on the girls'
faces - they can't be talking about whether
their tampons can sneak through their cervices - with the Ho-ho-ho,-I-know
look on the face of the girl in the American version.
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In the translation, below, see how the text at first leads you to believe
that it's exclusively a Tampax virtue that you can't push the tampon in
too far. Then it concedes that you can't push any tampon in too far
but regains its footing by saying that the Tampax tube applicator enables
you to put the 'pon just where it should be. European tampons often
lack an applicator, for example the German invention
o.b. "Amis" - German slang for Americans and not necessarily
friendly in spite of the coincidental appearance of the French word for
"friends" - invented the tampon with an applicator, the genius of Tampax, which met American sensibilities. Most
early American tampons lacked applicators.
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My translation of the headline and text of
the ad:
"Can a tampon get lost in the body? [The text continues at right.]
That probably sounds crazy but I'd always worried about it. Until my girlfriend
told me about Tampax. She said you can't push a Tampax tampon in too far
because a tampon would never pass through the tiny opening of the uterus.
And because Tampax has the special insertion help the tampon reaches the
right place where you won't feel it. With the insertion help everything
goes problem free and gently. Further: you can get Tampax in a special mini
size for young girls. It's neat that even beginners can easily use Tampax."
TAMPAX, from the beginning.
[Boxed coupon] I'd like to learn about mini Tampax with the insertion
help and would like the free and practical Tampax box [note the English!]
with four tampons.
Name, age, street/number, area code/city
Glue the coupon on a postcard and send to: Tampax consultation service
[addresses in Nuremberg and Vienna follow]
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© 2008 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any
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