Exceptional Approx. 325 words Kotex Commercials by Spiritual Echo      I Remember Contest Winner

I remember the horrific shame, the mortifying embarrassment when Kotex ran its first television commercial for feminine napkins--or was it Playtex? I sat on the sofa, trying desperately to shrink into the cushions, hoping no one noticed that I was the only female in the room. At the time, it seemed like some form of betrayal to have a product we stored in our vanity cabinets, hidden at the very back on the shelf under the sink, put on public display during prime--time television. The men were equally offended. I remember their faces as they turned to each other in disgust, cursing the advertiser and casting sidelong looks at me, as if I was responsible for the commercial. There was a stigma attached to female biology. All the men in the room were married, and certainly knew about menstruation, but it was addressed with contempt in public. "She's on the rag." Men blamed any deviation from their behaviour expectations of women as being on their period. Nothing more need be said. Men rolled their eyes and treated women's cycles like a disgusting aberration--a major interference or inconvenience--I'm not clear on that memory. "It's that time of month." Women were secretive about their periods, often referring to menstruation as 'their little friend.' Though we hated every aspect of this salute to womanhood, at least for the girls I knew, missing their buddy was a devastating nightmare. These commercials were so distasteful to viewers, men and women alike, they simply stopped watching their favourite shows, entirely due to the sponsor. For the rest of my life I shall remember a sanitary napkin floating across the screen, it's 'wings' flapping to emulate a dove. What made this memory come to life was the newest wave of Poise and Depends commercials that are regular sponsors of current prime-time shows. The irony may be that I pay attention and the product has targeted both men and women. We've come a long way, baby. ~~~   Writing Prompt Begin your non-fiction autobiographical story or poem with the words 'I remember...' Complete the sentence conveying a moment, an object, a feeling, etc. This does not have to be a profound memory, but should allow readers insight into your feelings, observations and/or thoughts. Use at least 100, but not more than 1,000 words. The count should be stated in your author notes. I Remember Contest Winner Recognized Author Notes Dean Kuch included the information below as part of his review to this essay. Now that the contest is closed, I hope readers will find the historical information as fascinating as I did. Playtex was the first to advertise undergarments on national television in 1955 and the first to show a woman wearing only a bra from the waist-up in a commercial in 1977. Playtex-branded tampons were introduced in the 1960s and became the primary competition to incumbent Tampax. Playtex invented the plastic tampon applicator in 1973. Feminine hygiene product commercials got the go-ahead from NABCA in 1972, long before lacy unmentionables were allowed. The first tampon brand to advertise on television was Rely, which started airing ads in two test cities (Rochester, NY, and Fort Wayne, IN) in July 1975. When Proctor and Gamble wasn't bombarded with protests for their audacity, Playtex quickly followed suit with competing commercials. (Rely was taken off the market in 1980 after its super-absorbent components were linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome.) The first person ever to utter the word "period" in a TV commercial when discussing a product made for that purpose was future Friends star Courteney Cox, who dropped the "p-bomb" several times in a Tampax ad that aired in 1985.

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