The girl wearing white pants and white socks on the poster was riding a white horse and surfing in the sea. She said to the audience with a smile: Do you know what keeps me at home? rain. It rainstorm! Such a vague advertising slogan may inevitably become a typical example of failed marketing today, but in the 20th century, this was the usual way for merchants to promote female physiological products. One of the missions of physiological products such as
sanitary napkins, tampons, menstrual cups, and other physiological supplies is to be cautious in words and deeds: other people in the world should not know whether a woman is having her period. American historian Sharra Vostral describes this in his writing on menstruation.
picture shows a poster of the sanitary napkin brand TAMPAX in the early 20s.
The first M scarf advertisement in the world
Physiological products are now a must-have for women, but they have not appeared as products that have been around for so long. According to historical records, for thousands of years, women around the world have also made sanitary products: Romans use wool, Japanese use paper, African use grass, Indonesia use plant fiber... Cloth-made sanitary napkins are also quite common, and people often clean it and reuse it.
In the late 19th century, humans experienced two industrial revolutions. Many items that were originally made by homemade were replaced by goods produced in large quantities in factories, and some merchants had the idea of physiological products. In the 1890s, American medical and health product company Johnson & Johnson began selling disposable tampons and produced a series of advertisements, setting a precedent in the business world.
The picture shows the tampon advertisement launched by Johnson & Johnson.
However, the product launched by Johnson & Johnson was not very successful at the time, which may be because most women are still accustomed to making their own physiological products, because it is cheaper and more comfortable, and not that embarrassing. Johnson & Johnson's failure has temporarily discouraged other businesses from this field.
Mysterious product-Only low-key can you sell well?
Transition occurred during World War I. When producing bandages, the paper-making company Kimberly-Clark uses a new material called fiber cotton (cellucotton), which is cheaper than cotton and has a stronger ability to absorb liquids. After the war, the company was trying to expand its business and unexpectedly received letters from nurses who said they used fiber cotton as sanitary napkin material.
Despite doubts, Kimberly-Clark still launched the sanitary napkin product Kotex in the 1920s. The name sounds mysterious, but it is actually just the abbreviation of cotton texture. It is this product with a perfunctory name that became popular as soon as it was released.
Nowadays, physiological products brands such as Tampax and Kotex are still popular in the United States.
This success is also due to the background of the times. During the two world wars, as a large number of men joined the army to the front line, many Western women went out of their families, entered factories or companies to work, so they needed cheap and convenient physiological products. In 1927, American engineer and psychologist Lillian Gilbreth conducted a market survey on physiological products technology. She pointed out that modern women need to go out and participate in social life, but they still want sanitary napkin products to be packaged in a low-key manner.
Following Kotex, the tampon product Tampax entered the market in the 1930s, and menstrual cups were also invented at the same time. After the outbreak of World War II, when merchants advertised these products, in addition to continuing their usual obscure words, they also used helping women participate in the war as a selling point.
In the 1920s, men might be puzzled when they see Kotex advertisements, but today, physiological products can appear on TV screens in a more generous and clear manner. Making sanitary napkin advertisements no longer mysterious may be an important part of breaking menstrual shame.
The picture shows a cartoon-style physiological product advertisement in the 1970s, which shows a girl almost discovered the tampon in her bag by a male classmate.
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