Oh, and I’ve seen it in France and the Czech Republic, so it’s not exclusively an American weirdness.
Right that’s it I’m on a mission to find pussy destinker now. I’m 37 though and have never seen such a beast. I will be looking to make my bits smell tingly fresh and clean from now on (I hasten to add that they always smelled good to those smelling though…I even spray the loo after I poo though, maybe it lingers)
Come on, these people have made a mint out of convincing women that they stink, and that somehow that certain area needs deep, industrial cleansing in order to be “fresh.”
It’s always somewhat amazed me how susceptible we women are to “shame advertising.”
I’ll have to admit, I was a bit surprised at the term “finger style”. The image invoked by the term must be too graphic for the American consumer. Of course, it’s entirely apt, but very blunt.
“… has wings!”
“does it fly?”
“Of course not, silly!”
I think Roy Lichtenstein-style prints on the box would be great, you know, a cartoonish 50’s style woman with tears welling in her eyes, “Thank GOD I’m not menopausal/pregnant/as much of a bitch as I was beginning to think I was!!!” Or maybe grinning happily with a tampon in one upturned palm and a large bar of chocolate in the other. 
But I’d settle for the Japanese marketing describe in **Rinda Rinda’s ** post. Swirling stars - cool!!
This is not original to me, but it could certainly fit another definition of “original”: an actual series of radio ads for sanitary pads from maybe four years ago, aired here in Norway.
“This is Ingrid. [shloop, shloop, shloop sounds]
Ingrid has her period. [shloop, shloop, shloop]
But thanks to (our wonderful products), [shloop, shloop, shloop]
even though Ingrid has her period, [shloop, shloop, shloop]
she’s comfortable enough to do everything she usually does! [shloop, shloop, shloop]
Like washing the kitchen floor, for example. [shloop, shloop, shloop]”
While this isn’t my usual brand, I appreciated the humor. There aren’t too many things you can say about pads or tampons - basically absorbency, comfort, convenience, and price - and they’ve been done to death.
Heh. Went shopping for the ‘monthly stuff’ the other day, and I knew this was going to be a bad one. I got to the register with a large box of Super, a large box of Super Plus, a box of MaxiPads, a bottle of Advil, a box of personal wipes, a one-pound bar of chocolate (I SAID it was gonna be a bad one - I never buy chocolate anymore), and an issue of Cosmo. And evidently one hell of a scowl on my face.
The cashier looks at me, and says, “Aw cheer up! Life can’t be THAT bad!” Then looks at the conveyor belt.
I’ve never seen a teenage boy blush and stammer like that.
Actually, RindaRinda’s mention of ‘finger cots’ sounds like an excellent idea for the non-applicator types. Why do you think these are not included? Cost overrun? No one thought of it yet? Women would not know what they are for?
This is a great idea. I think I’ll pick some up for next time.
There is some great discussion of fem hy advertising themes http://www.mum.org/adwritin.htm.
A great book on the subject is The Curse: Confronting the Last Unmentionable Taboo, Menstruation.
The advertising and packaging have always been a part of societies menstrual taboo. We aren’t supposed to talk about it. In days past, women spent their periods in menstrual huts. In some cultures, they still do. At any rate, as long as these attitudes prevail, we will be stuck with pretty, ultra-feminine packaging and advertisements that do not clearly discuss the merits of the products.
And what about deodorant tampons. Besides being pointless, these things smell like “feminine hygiene.” Who wants to smell like that?
I have to admit the Tampax Pearl scent is better than the Playtex one. It smells “fresh?” or “springy?” or “sporty?” But still, why?
Owie owie owie.
I snorted cola through my nose. My co-workers want why I’m cleaning my desk.
The Australians and South Africans have the packaging thing a little better.
I’ll settle for packages that don’t all look the same.
Yellow with a pastoral meadow.
Green with a yellow sunflower.
Orange with white stripes.
A silhouette of a woman, shoulders up.
How hard can it be?
This is a funny spoof of the tampon absorbency/blue liquid commercials.
I wish I could buy tampons in brands like “Soft as Milk”! How cool would that be? Plus, it would be a lot easier to find in the “embarassing” aisle. Soft as Milk!
You’ll find it on the “embarassing” isle, probably closer to yeast infection creams than to tampons or condoms. I assure you, it’s there but you’ve never noticed it.
Sometimes I think it’s a kindness that they put everything together that people are a little skeeved about buying - tampons, adult diapers, condoms, pregnancy tests, er, “pussy destinker”… but sometimes I think it’s kind of cruel to the younger male variety of condom shoppers. The condom selection is only getting more confusing, requiring a whole lot more “standing there reading the box” time as it is. I doubt your average high school guy’s day would be improved by hearing me say “Damn it, all I want is the green one!”
I don’t know if this is relevant but I feel like “sharing” anyway.
My poor daughter had her first period in Jakarta. Unfortunately I think we both were suffering from some side effect of the anti-malarial drug we were taking. Several days earlier in the trip I had the most unbelievable period of my life going through a two month supply of “supplies” in 3 days.
The wonderful people we were staying with in Jakarta gave her some pads meant for small women (I hope this is not considered racial stereotyping but they were basically doll-sized supplies and she was your average 5’8" American 13 year old). To say they really didn’t do the job is a gross understatement.
Sooooooo I spent about 8 hours with my grad-school friend (who is a Muslim Indonesian male) looking for Tampax for the Pictsiekid. We went from store to store while I described what I wanted to him, he translated to the shop girls, the shop girls covered their mouths and giggled and shook their heads. No tampax.
The next day he came home with a box of Tampax he bought at an “Ex-Pat” store. But he told me in no uncertain terms after examining the pictures on the box and reading the text that not only did he not think I should let my daughter use them, he would never let his wife use them. I think he just chalked it up to another crazy American thing.
I still love the guy 
He went way out of his way for us and even tho he disagreed with what we wanted he bought it for us anyway. What a sweetheart.
PS If his wife ever wanted them I am sure she would get her way. Same with his daughter.
Here is another article about the menstrual taboo in orthodox judaism. While it is a slight hijack, it is darn interesting.
[Edited to remove an entire article–Veb]
BTW hygene should be “hygiene” in the OP.
There is an episode of South Park where Cartman becomes excited about getting his period. He tours the fem hy aisle of a drug store. One of the brands is Plug Ups.
Calm Kiwi, I’m very sorry to have to tell you this… but I have seen the, er, pussy destinker in Australian supermarkets. I’ve only noticed one type, so I gather there’s not a huge demand for it. (From memory) it’s in a white bottle with pastel flowers on it, and I think the cap on the bottle is pink. I’ve never thought to check out the brand name of the product in question.
I worked out where the ‘feminine sprays’ were in the pharmacy today - between the condoms and the insect repellant. I really can’t figure out that logic.