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This Old Maltese Ad May Have Been The Most Effective Campaign In Malta’s History

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It can sometimes feel like there’s a new fad diet every month, with dieticians and even celebrities constantly espousing new and improved ways of losing weight.

However, it wasn’t so long ago that companies were promoting ways of gaining weight. We guess the ad worked a little too well as Malta now tops the charts when it comes to obesity… oops.

A vintage ad posted by the awesome page Racanc really proved that in the land of the Goddess of Fertility, you could advertise a “healthy” way of gaining a whole lot of weight in a short amount of time.

An actual gif of skinny Maltese women in the 1940s

‘Super Wate-On’, which could be taken in liquid form or as tablets, promised Maltese women a quick and healthy way of gaining weight. 

The classic weight-gain ad says Super Wate-On is full of vitamins, comes in a tasty strawberry flavour, and will help you “stop worrying about being too skinny”.

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The ad says that Super Wate-On could be purchased from any pharmacy in Malta and uses phrases like “Be better – feel better – be full of energy” and even says this is a way to make your “meat more solid and stronger”. 

The ad also says the product is safe and can be used with children from ages 5 and above.

This Maltese ad was part of a series of international weight-gain ads in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. 

The product was even endorsed by glamour model Raquel Welch, and the series also featured specific ads targeted at African-American women.

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One ad even went straight to the point by saying “If you want to be popular you can’t afford to be skinny!”

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With recent statistics pointing to Maltese women as the most obese in Europe and voluptuous women being in vogue, 2018 might be the year that Super Wate-On makes a return to the Maltese market. 

Tag a friend who needs Wate-On!

READ NEXT: Maltese Girls Are Officially The Most Obese In Europe

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

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