Playtex was the first to advertise undergarments on national television in 1955, written by Howard Shavelson at Ogilvy and Mather, and the first to show a woman wearing only a bra from the waist up in a commercial in 1977.

[4] During World War II, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese invasion of Malaysia cut off Allied manufacturers from their largest sources of latex.

[4] The company almost went out of business during the war, so it created an industrial division to find government and military applications for latex.

[3] Playtex's marketing in the post-war era was influential in creating the shift from custom-tailored undergarments to manufactured sizes.

[11] Playtex's industrial division was spun off in 1967, two years before the Moon landing that utilized its space suits; it eventually became ILC Dover.

[13][14] By 1975, the five largest tampon manufacturers began competing with multimillion-dollar advertising budgets,[15] and Playtex became the primary competitor to market-leader Tampax.

[18][19] In 1985, a judge offered to reduce an $11 million verdict against Playtex if they would recall their super-plus tampons and admit that they were killing women.

The following year, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) relaxed rules regarding partial nudity on television,[30] which previously forced undergarment manufacturers to use mannequins in their commercials, despite bathing suits and equally revealing swimwear being allowed.

[39] Both makers increased profits primarily by reducing the tampon count per box, and prepared to enter emerging markets, particularly in Asia, where many women still used homemade pads.

for $1.25 billion, its largest acquisition up to that point, returning to the tampon sector almost two decades after pulling Rely from the market over Toxic Shock Syndrome concerns.

[40] Due to its strong advantage among younger women, and baby boomers reaching menopause, Playtex continued to gain market share on Tampax.

[42] It also alleged that advertising claiming Tampax Pearl had better leakage protection and comfort than Gentle Glide was false.

[43] In 2006, Sara Lee spun off its clothing sector into HanesBrands Inc., which now runs the Playtex apparel business.

[46][47] Playtex Products was sued in 2008, when a mother accused the company of not adequately disclosing their baby bottles contained bisphenol A.

In 2013, the Playtex intimate apparel brand launched a $10 million integrated marketing campaign called "Be Uniquely You".

This 360 rebranding included new bra styles and packaging and a strong presence in social media and national TV ads.

[49][50] In 2015, Energizer Holdings spun out several businesses including Playtex Products into a new company called Edgewell Personal Care.

[60] Playtex Products also manufactures the Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen brands, household gloves, diaper pails, cleansing cloths and the Ortho-Pro and Binky pacifiers.