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Unfortunate Moments in Marketing

Ayds Appetite Suppressant Candy!

From Wikipedia:

Ayds (pronounced as “aids”) was an appetite-suppressant candy which enjoyed strong sales in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was available in chocolate, chocolate mint, butterscotch or caramel flavors, and later a peanut butter flavor was introduced. The original packaging used the phrase “Ayds Reducing Plan vitamin and mineral Candy”; a later version used the phrase “appetite suppressant candy”. The active ingredient was originally benzocaine[1], presumably to reduce the sense of taste to reduce eating, later changed in the candy as reported by The New York Times to phenylpropanolamine.[2]

By the mid-1980s, public awareness of the disease AIDS – which had initially been called “GRID”, for Gay-Related Immune Deficiency – caused problems for the brand due to the phonetic similarity of names. Initially sales were not affected, but by 1988 the chairman of Dep Corporation announced that the company was seeking a new name because sales had dropped as much as 50 percent due to publicity about the disease.[3] The product’s name was changed to Diet Ayds (Aydslim in Britain), but eventually it was withdrawn from the market.

About the author

Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
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