A woman has shared a poignant post detailing why the new Malteser’s ad - in which a disabled woman reenacts a sexual gesture with a packet of chocolate - made her cry happy tears.
The 20-year-old, known as Emily, commented on a Reddit post about the latest advert, which aims to encourage everyday conversation surrounding disability in a more lighthearted way.
Emily said that she has a disability and has spent years hating her own sexuality because of stigma. But the Maltesers advert has changed that.
“I have been waiting my entire life for something that says, ‘It’s okay to laugh at yourself. It’s okay to be sexual,’” she said. “And Maltesers just did that in thirty seconds.”
In the new Maltesers advert, which is one of three released to coincide with the Paralympics, Inbetweeners actor Storme Toolis is sat with two friends chatting about an intimate experience.
She explains that she was “getting frisky” with a guy and had placed her hand on an intimate area when she began to have a spasm - but the guy “misinterpreted it”.
Her friend responds to say: “That’s so awkward.” But Toolis simply replies with a smile on her face: “He wasn’t complaining.”
She then shakes the packet of Maltesers and, sure enough, they jump out of the packet and on to the table in what could also be interpreted as a rather rude gesture.
The advert is one of three released by Maltesers, focusing specifically on the “lighter moments in the lives of those living with a disability”.
It comes after research found that 80% of disabled people felt underrepresented by TV and the media.
Commenting on the advert, Reddit user Emily wrote: “Holy shit. Oh my God, I’m crying.”
“I’m a twenty-year-old disabled girl who studies sexology simply because my sex education curriculum only addressed sexuality in disabled people by saying, ‘Young, disabled woman are four times more likely to be raped than their able-bodied counterparts’, leading me to hate my own sexuality and the boys to call me, ‘Rape Food’.
“I have been waiting my entire life to find a space where I am not made out to be disgusting and weird, but also not made into super-special-inspirational-motivational-oh-my-god INSPIRATION PORN.”
She said that she makes “cripple jokes”, “running jokes” and even jokes about “sex and her spasms” as a way of dealing with the discrimination she faces and stigma within society.
“People either love it or get uncomfortable,” she explained.
“I hate my disability. I love my figure. I can’t do a lot of things. I have major depressive disorder because of it and my life is not motivational. I just want to laugh about it so it doesn’t seem so heavy.
“I have been waiting my entire life for something that says, ‘It’s okay to laugh at yourself. It’s okay to be sexual.’ And Maltesers just did that in thirty seconds.
“I’m so happy to be alive right now.”
Twitter user Emma Wright shared a link to the comment with actor Storme Toolis, who responded to say: “This is lovely to see, thank you.”
She added that she felt “incredibly honoured” to star in the advert.