Selling Romance - Vel-X Gum

You would be hard pressed today to pick up a women's or fashion magazine that didn't mention weight loss to some degree. Romance comics of the 1960s and '70s were not immune to the advertisement of products to help readers achieve just the right look. This ad for Vel-X gum appeared in Charlton's Time for Love #15 (March 1970).

"Don't miss dating and good times because you're FAT!"

I am guessing there was either a stimulant in the gum, or that the plan entailed chewing excessive amounts to reduce cravings. How ever it worked, the placement of this advertisement would have been seen by even the youngest members of the romance comic book audience -- 12-year-olds.

We may sometimes think of the whole diet phenomena as a relatively modern thing, but as evidenced by this ad for Vel-X Gum and the following TAB commercial from the early '70s -- it is anything but new.

At least in the romance comics there were also ads to help the skinny ladies put ON weight. I doubt you will find that today!