Tampons don’t sell much in India. But as this advertisement indicates, that efforts to peddle the product to Indian women (apparently unsuccessfully) goes back to more than 55 years. Note that given the fears about tampon use and virginity, this advertisement is presented as a message to women, “especially those who are married.”
There was a time when Colgate was synonymous with toothpaste (and they also made hair oil). 1957 advertisement for Colgate Perfumed Castor Hair Oil:
Beauca front open bra advertisement from 1954.
Ad from 1954: If you are unmarried, you have the pay for sex education (or pretend to be married to get it for free).
A joke on India’s most famous family planning slogan: हम दो, हमारे दो, जब तक तीसरा न हो/Hum do, hamare do, jab tak teesra na ho (We two, ours two, until the third comes along) India’s National Family Welfare Programme was launched in 1951 and posters were (and are) one of the most effective modes [Read more]
A print advertisement from the 1950s for Castaroma hair oil endorsed by actress Waheeda Rehman.
It was an altogether different age, when having a telephone at home was a status symbol. And the waiting list for a new phone connection was sometimes years long. It was also the time when there was no pulse for local calls (at least in Shillong), it didn’t matter how long the call was, you [Read more]
This advertisement is from the January 28, 1950 edition of The Times of India (Delhi) and has the then Prime Minister of India jawaharlal Nehru, garlanded and with a tilak on his forehead and the tricolour in the background, speaking to a gathering through a Chicago Telephone & Radio mike.
