I spilled my secret and he almost picked it up!
October 1, 2013 10:13 AM   Subscribe

1970s Pursettes tampons ad campaign. Featuring stilted dialog and drawn by Mad Magazine's own Mort Drucker.
posted by JanetLand (22 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
I call bs on this campaign. Doesn't the artist know that when you do any sort of athletic activity during your period, you have to do it while wearing entirely white clothing?
posted by olinerd at 10:24 AM on October 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


"What, she worry?"
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:33 AM on October 1, 2013 [12 favorites]


Thumbs up for straight talking, euphamism-free explanations.

You have no idea how opaque most "feminine hygiene" ads were back then!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:34 AM on October 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


If I were picking a Mad artist to draw a tampon ad it'd be Don Martin. Although the sound effects might be a bit much.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:43 AM on October 1, 2013 [15 favorites]


Sergio Aragones' The Lighter Side of Menstruation.
posted by dr_dank at 10:45 AM on October 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


You have no idea how opaque most "feminine hygiene" ads were back then!

Even in the eighties. I recall a snippet of dialogue from a movie, (though of course not the title of the movie) to the effect of: "What is 'feminine protection' anyway? Is it like a pink flamethrower?"
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:56 AM on October 1, 2013


Sergio Aragones' The Lighter Side of Menstruation.


The Lighter Side stuff was Dave Berg!

Sergio Aragones did the little doodles in the margins.


Now you know what I did with my allowance.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:56 AM on October 1, 2013 [9 favorites]


Sergio Aragones did the little doodles in the margins.

And don't forget Groo the Wanderer. (I'm now imagining a tampon ad featuring Groo. It's... a little messy.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:14 AM on October 1, 2013


the sound effects might be a bit much.

FLOOP!
posted by pjern at 11:32 AM on October 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


Thank God they mentioned horseback riding. That always worries me the most.

Also, that the boy is the kicker to every situation. "Oh, Fern, isn't it wonderful?"
posted by Madamina at 11:51 AM on October 1, 2013


"I recall a snippet of dialogue from a movie, (though of course not the title of the movie)"

Apparently the quote is by Opus from Bloom County and reads:

"... like, what do they mean when they say 'feminine protection'?
What's that? A chartreuse flamethrower?"

if you want to believe this source.
posted by komara at 12:14 PM on October 1, 2013


It was Bloom County, but it wasn't Opus, it was Portnoy:

http://www.thecomicstrips.com/store/add.php?iid=85810

(You may have to mouse over the picture to see the strip.)

It does feel like the kind of joke that had been "making the rounds" before someone wrote it down, though.
posted by themanwho at 12:25 PM on October 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


the sound effects might be a bit much.

FLOOP!


The judges also would have accepted: MENARGH! and CRADAMP!
posted by zippy at 12:30 PM on October 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


also SPLORCH!
posted by zippy at 12:33 PM on October 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


pjern: " the sound effects might be a bit much.

FLOOP!
"

GOD DAMN YOU! I was swallowing coffee. (sluurpPHHHT)
posted by IAmBroom at 12:48 PM on October 1, 2013


Napkins make that time of the month feel like SKRINKLE SKRUTCH! FLOOMFAH! BLORP. And bulky applicators can go KRRSHT-POING! KLONK! Try Pursettes, the tampon with the discreet and comfortable pffft! ahhh.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:56 PM on October 1, 2013 [8 favorites]


I thought I was the only human being who contemplated the onamonapia for this topic.

Floop works on many levels, but is too close to florp.
posted by dr_dank at 1:18 PM on October 1, 2013


why didn't they use fold in?
posted by Burgatron at 1:51 PM on October 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Drucker was one of MAD's go-to guys for movie/TV parodies for his skill at caricature. Before he retired, he helped current MAD artist (and National Cartoonist Society bigwig) Tom Richmond get in the door. (Great story featuring the best anniversary gift a creative guy ever got from his wife)

The other long-running MAD caricature specialist was Jack Davis, who didn't just do print ads; he designed and storyboarded animated commercials.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:22 PM on October 1, 2013


That's the second-most-unlikely menstruation-related thing I've seen lately.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:53 PM on October 1, 2013


Likewise, Angelo Torres, who typically would do the TV parodies while Mort Drucker would do the Movie parodies. (Of course, some exceptions for both.)

Mad always had the best artists.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 12:08 AM on October 2, 2013


I always forget how wordy old ads used to be.
posted by lumensimus at 12:42 AM on October 2, 2013


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