Absorbent article with visually and tactilely distinctive outer cover

An absorbent article having a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion interconnecting said front and back waistband portions, said article comprising:

• a backsheet member;
• a liquid permeable topsheet layer;
• and
• an absorbent body sandwiched between said topsheet layer and backsheet member;
• said backsheet member including;
• an air permeable, polymer sheet layer having a WVTR value of at least about 500 g/m.sup.2 per 24 hr, wherein said polymer sheet layer is a composite laminate composed of a core layer sandwiched between a pair of skin layers, with said core layer including a linear-low-density-polyethylene;
• and
• an outward nonwoven fibrous web joined with a major facing surface of said polymer sheet layer at a plurality of individual, spaced apart thermal bonds;
• said outward nonwoven web including a plurality of fibers having substantially unbonded lengths which extend substantially continuously between at least an adjacent pair of said bonds, said substantially unbonded fiber lengths lofted away from an outward surface of said thermal bonds to provide an embossing element depth value of at least about 160 .mu.m, said fibers of said outward nonwoven web having a denier of not more than about 3 dpf, said outward nonwoven web having a basis weight of not more than about 55 g/m.sup.2.