Researched by Morgan Ploch | July 08, 2024
To compete with Kimberly-Clark’s Kotex sanitary napkins, R.W. Johnson, of Johnson and Johnson, recruited Dr. Lillian Gilbreth to survey young women and help design the perfect pad. These pads replaced the harsh, scratchy gauze of Kotex with softer materials and introduced the leak-proof blue plastic shield on the underside of the pad. Despite the successful line of high fashion “Modess…because” ads, the brand never surpassed Kotex and was sold off by J&J. The brand may have been doomed from the start due to an overwhelming response to a mail-in two-for-one deal the brand advertised before even moving into its headquarters. Once the orders were finally packed up the team left to catch a few hours of sleep. Overnight, the janitor mistook the unmarked packages as paper waste and disposed of the products and all the hard work that went into them.
- Timeframe: 1950s
- Item Location: N/A
- Credit: Kim Rosas
- Category: pads
https://dp.la/search?q=Modess – Modess advertising was prolific, often vague, but also innovative. They promoted their pads to a higher-end clientele in fashion magazines with images of elegant women in satin ball gowns. They also sold clothing and accessories by mail order that included Modess pad samples.
