I got hold of three Female magazine cookbooks published in Singapore between 1985 and 1988, and what turned out to be more intriguing than the recipes are the print ads of food products, which we don’t see so often these days. Back in the 80s long copy ads were still popular and they dominated these cookbooks. These ads may be grouped into a few categories to help explain why more words used to be better.
To explain new products or special features.

Here, the oven’s “unique double quartz elements” need explanation.

It seems that packet coconut cream was still a novelty in the mid-1980s, which is why Harlen compares itself not with similar products but with freshly squeezed coconut milk.

This and the following ad highlight the fact that these oils are polyunsaturated fat, at a time when people were waging war against saturated fats, believing that they cause heart disease (we discover later that this argument is based on junk science).
To highlight a new packaging.
To showcase a wider range of products or functions.

It’s likely that Singaporeans first came to know Kraft for their cheese.
The advertisers sometimes get creative…

This ad for National, now defunct, read like a haiku. Pay attention to how the fine prints about discounts respond to the poem.
or corny.

In the previous year, Kikkoman’s ad went on lengthily about its history, production methods, and market reach. This one here ditched the narrative to state the qualities outright from the perspective of the product itself.
Recipes used to be an attractive gift since people didn’t have the internet and the alternative was to shell out money for cookbooks.