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Catalog Data

Collection Donor:
Finley, Harry, 1942-  Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1940s
Scope and Contents:
Includes examples of advertisements from the "Modess…because" campaign. General Robert Wood Johnson, the son of Company co-founder Robert Wood Johnson, was Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson from 1932 to 1963. Johnson liked to attend advertising strategy meetings, and at one such meeting in the late 1940s, he suggested that the company link its new Modess ad campaign to high fashion and make it different than anything seen before. So the product director and the agency hired some of the era's leading fashion designers to design gowns specifically for the ads, which were modelled by famous fashion models and photographed by well-known photographers in palaces, art museums and other beautiful locations in Europe and the U.S. General Robert Wood Johnson thought the proposed advertising copy was too wordy, which he felt could discourage women who felt uncomfortable reading ads about sanitary protection products. Johnson encouraged the marketing team to limit the copy to a paragraph, or a sentence, or just two words, and he suggested "Modess…because." Source "Modess Advertising in the 20th Century: From Silent Purchase Coupons to Empowered Women" (https://ourstory.jnj.com/ last accessed on April 11, 2023).
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Museum of Menstruation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
See more items in:
Museum of Menstruation Collection
Museum of Menstruation Collection / Series 4: Advertising and Sales Materials
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88471e00f-b5f2-4916-9591-fcdd55c4542a
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1586-ref469