For the sake of the 99.9 percent of the public not up on their menstruation-products marketing history, the first tampon ad appeared in the early 1930s. The brand’s name was Fax, and apart from featuring a drawing of a woman in a bathing suit, the 29-cent product’s ad copy proclaimed “A NEW freedom, comfort, convenience”—but dared go no further.
Perspective: The Lady Problem
Half a century of social progress after tampons came to market, they're still treated with squeamishness
