Debuting in 1941, Ayds candy was basically a piece of caramel or fudge that contained an appetite suppressant. The product appealed particul...
Debuting in 1941, Ayds candy was basically a piece of caramel or fudge that contained an appetite suppressant. The product appealed particularly to women, who were seemingly on a perpetual quest to get (and stay) slim.
For years, Ayds candy was a big seller… and then came AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Even though the disease’s name was spelled differently, the similarity defied the adage, “any publicity is good publicity.”
At first, the makers of Ayds said that they didn’t think it was a big deal. In fact, in 1986, Advertising Age talked to a company representative, and reported that “Ayds will be called Ayds regardless of AIDS.”
As Frank DiPrima, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Jeffrey Martin Inc., the company that marketed Ayds, said in that interview, “Consumers are smart enough to tell the difference between a disease and a diet product,” and added, “The product has been around for 45 years. Let the disease change its name.”
Of course, the devastating disorder didn’t change its name, and by 1988, sales of the diet candy were down 50%, and the company was looking for something else to call their product.
They tried re-branding as Aydslim and Diet Ayds, but at some point in the 90s, the 50-year-old diet aid lost the war.
Here’s a look back at the famous product over the years.
Vintage Ayds diet candy “takes off ugly fat” (1948)
Lose weight with Zsa Zsa Gabor & Ayds candy! (1953)
How you can lose weight — and eat what you want! “It happened to me,” says Zsa Zsa Gabor
No Drugs… No Diet… Results Guaranteed! Excess weight may ruin your health and your looks, too. Lovely movie stars lose weight the Ayds way — why not you? In fact, you must lose pounds with the very first box ($2.98) or your money back!
Proved by Clinical Tests. With Ayds you lose weight the way Nature intended you to — without dieting or hunger. A quick natural way, clinically tested and approved by doctors, with no risk to health. With the Ayds Plan you should feel healthier, look better while reducing — and have a lovelier figure.
Controls Hunger and Over-eating. When you take Ayds before meals, as directed, you can eat the foods you like. No starvation dieting — no gnawing hunger pangs.
Ayds is a specially made, low calorie candy fortified with health-giving vitamins and minerals. Ayds curbs your appetite — you automatically eat less — lose weight naturally, safely, quickly. Ayds is guaranteed pure. Contains no drugs or laxatives.
New Loveliness in a Few Weeks. Users report losing up to ten pounds with the very first box. Others say they have lost twenty to thirty pounds with the Ayds Plan.
