More Tampax ads:
First Tampax ad? (1936) - actress Susan Dey ad, 1970 - gymnast Mary Lou Retton ad, 1986 - ad "Are you sure I'll still be a virgin?" Feb. 1990 - ad (British, nude) 1992 - Tampax sign (World War II)
Ad Aug 1965 - actress Susan Dey ad, 1970 - gymnast Mary Lou Retton ad, 1986 - ad, British, 1994 (the thong advantage)
See a very early Tampax box and contents - more early commercial tampons
See more Tampax items: American ad from August 1965 - nudity in an ad: May 1992 (United Kingdom) - a sign advertising Tampax during World War II - the original patent - an instruction sheet from the 1930s
The influential Dickinson Report (1945) - Early commercial tampons
Ad Aug 1965 - actress Susan Dey ad, 1970 - gymnast Mary Lou Retton ad, 1986 - ad "Are you sure I'll still be a virgin?" Feb. 1990 - ad (British, nude) 1992 - Tampax sign (World War II) - ad, British, 1994 (the thong advantage)
Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche (date ?) - Kotique douche 1974 ad - Liasan (1) ad - Liasan (2) ad - Lysol 1928 ad - Lysol 1948 ad - Marvel 1926 ad - Midol 1938 ad - Midol 1959 booklet - o.b. German (papyrus tampons) - Pristeen 1969 ad - o.b. German (nude) - Sterizol 1926 ad - Vionell spray 1970 ad (Germany) - the odor page

A British Tampax ad using nudity (1992) - And see other ads directed at teenagers.

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).
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
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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 | Religi�n y menstruaci�n | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruaci�n | 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 versi�n en espa�ol de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepci�n y religi�n, Breve rese�a - Olor - Religi�n y menstruaci�n - Seguridad de productos para la menstruaci�n.

 
The former brick-and-mortar Museum of Menstruation

Ad, Tampax,
Glamour magazine, France
July-August, 1991

Here we go again!

France outundressing America! And with that iconic American invention, Tampax!

During a time when women around the world often never showed their faces, the French woman below shows everything - well, almost, anyway.

Um, famous French couture and non-couture.

And it wasn't the first time. See some ads for Modess pads here and here. Wait, isn't Modess short for modest?

Somehow, the ad combines discretion with nudity. Successfully.

Vive la France!

Although an American osteopath invented Tampax, a German woman immigrant to America was the president of the first company selling Tampax in America (read some history) and that tampon itself might have reached Germany around the time Hitler came to power; the Dutch and the French had it by 1938 (ads and the French Tampax here).

But Americans at least have had trouble accepting tampons from the beginning, what with worrying about virginity, whether the little devils would get lost and whether they're safe or not (see a newspaper campaign against Rely and the infamous tampon itself).

The main tampon in Europe for decades was o.b., which had no applicator (see an early folder). Like probably most American women, some Germans didn't like sticking their fingers into their bleeding vaginas, teeming with even more bacteria than usual because of the alkalinity of menstrual blood (read more here).

Tampax is famous for promoting freedom from inconvenience; read the humor page for how that tampon can help people ride bicycles and swim, even if they aren't women.

Below: The full-page ad measures 8 1/4x11" (21x27.9 cm).
My translation:
What's more discreet than Tampax? Good question.













Once in place, the Tampax tampon swells in breath and width, taking the anatomical form. And one would be wrong to forget at what point Tampax thus assures perfect protection.



Completely reliable protection: in order to adapt to the size of your flow, Tampax gives you the choice of four degrees of absorption.


What's more discreet than Tampax? That was a really good question.


TAMPAX
And life goes on.


[Coupon for a guide to menstruation. and "Tampax will send you free a box of 10 mini tampons and a little carrier for them."]


[Lowest left-hand text blocks:]
What's more discreet than what's invisible? Once in place, it would be wrong to forget how that changes everything.

The tightest, the shortest: Tampax allows you to wear your favorite outfit. You don't lose your right to be bold just because you're having your period. [Or NOT to wear your favorite outfit (picture).]


See more Tampax items: Another British Tampax ad, with nudity, 1992 - "Are you sure I'll still be a virgin?" ad (Feb. 1990) - August 1965 ad (U.S.A.) - a sign advertising Tampax during World War II - the original patent - an instruction sheet from the 1930s - and some other early commercial tampons

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