This Tampax ad was created in 1938 by Tampax Inc., two years after the Tampax product was officially launched for public consumption. Prior to this women wore period belts and bulky pads as mentioned in the ad, found in an August 15, 1938 edition of Life Magazine.
This ad in particular mentions “doctors” and “surgical cotton” as a way to accredit the product with medical validity as well as giving a professional male stamp of approval. Hygiene and lack of smell are also emphasized within the greater text, creating and then profiting off of women's insecurities, a popular technique when marketing products towards women that we still see today.
Tampax specifically targeted young working women during the 1930s, marketing their product as a tool to help women join the workforce. This particular ad is responding to the cultural shift of the increasing freedom of women. This idea became more and more prevalent as WW11 began and women were left to do the jobs of men as they fought overseas. This Tampax ad is a time capsule of social expectations and the idea of the modern woman in 1938.
Piper Aldrich
Ellis, Samantha. "The Evolution and Cultural Intersection of American Feminine Hygiene Advertisements from 1921-1969." Order No. 30812889, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 2023. https://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/evolution-cultural-intersection-american-feminine/docview/2911686121/se-2.
Tampax. “The History of Tampax.” The History of Tampax | Tampax®, May 13, 2020. https://tampax.com/en-us/about/our-story/history-of-tampax/.
Freidenfelds, Lara. The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth- Century America. The Modern Period : Menstruation in Twentieth-Century America. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, n.d.
