GI Joe VHS Tape Ad

 

I know this isn't quite a toy ad, but here is an ad from an old comic book announcing that G.I. Joe cartoon episodes were going to be available on Family Home Entertainment VHS tapes.  F.H.E. would go on to release twelve tapes featuring G.I. Joe.  The first two compiled the episodes that made up The M.A.S.S. Device mini-series, and The Revenge of Cobra mini-series as full-length movies.  Most of the rest of them were just tapes featuring single episodes.  If that price tag of $39.95 was the same for all the tapes, that’s pretty crappy.  I can see possibly paying that for one of the two mini-series, but not for a tape featuring just a single episode.  For Christmas in 1986, I received one of the tapes, the single episode titled Sattelite Down.  I really hope my parents didn’t pay that much for that tape back then.  That $39.95 is $93.00 in today’s dollars. 

GI Joe Killer WHALE Hovercraft Commercial from 1984

 

Throughout my memories of the mid-’80s, two action figure lines dominated my playtime. Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe. The cartoon series and the Real American Hero toyline were a powerful combination. I lived and breathed G.I. Joe pretty hard back then. I mean, I still do today, but not nearly like I did back then.

This commercial combines the two pretty well. The animated sequence at the beginning is befitting of its own episode of the cartoon and would make a great commercial by itself. But then you throw in the hovercraft itself, and I was in playtime heaven.

Like most things I salivate over in these old commercials, I never owned the WHALE, nor did I ever get a chance to play with it. So watching the kids in this commercial put it through its paces makes me excited even today. The fact that it actually floats on water is a big drawing point, and watching the depth charges roll off into the water almost sent me over the edge. It was a stellar toy in a line full of them, and yet it still stands apart from the rest because of all its cool features.

And what about that environment they are playing with it in? I wish I had had a place like that to take my Joes back then and fight out the battles between G.I. Joe and Cobra.

Matchbox Cars with Free Puffy Stickers Ad from 1984

 

So toy cars like Matchbox and Hot Wheels have always been fun, and back in the ’80s, stickers were a huge thing. And some of the best stickers you could find to add to your collection were of the puffy variety. I put them up there neck and neck with scratch and sniff stickers. With that said, this ad really hits high for me because you could get both Matchbox cars AND puffy stickers in one fun package! That’s a lot of fun packed into one little package. I can just imagine going to Hills on the weekend and talked my folks into buying this for me. I’d have not one, but three Matchbox cars to play with, and have 25 puffy stickers to boot! That would go a long way towards making that weekend awesome.

Risk Board Game Ad from 1984

 

I think this ad does an incredible job of conveying its message, and that message is that you can take control of the strategies and moves that may win or lose a war. Just like the generals pictured in the ad do. Now while I’m not sure that portraying it in this way is healthy, it certainly is effective. I was first introduced to Risk at a sleepover birthday party at my friend Lance’s house. He busted that thing out later in the night, and none of us went to sleep as we just continued to play the game until daylight. I’ve been a fan of it ever since, but I sadly no longer own a copy of it. Until the last couple of years, my kids have not been old enough to understand or enjoy it, but now I might have to pick it up again and start a game with them.

Masters of the Universe Comic Book Ad from 1982

 

Holy hell…is that a thing of beauty or what? I love old MOTU art for all the little details that changed here and there as the line came of age. For example, you rarely see Man-at-Arms on Battle Cat like you do in this ad, and check out Mer-Man in the Wind Raider.

I would have loved to have been there at the dawn of the brand. Well, I was, but I was 4 or 5 years old. I wish I could have been older when it launched so I could more fully appreciate all the intricacies of the whole story. Like the original mini-comics…they had little details that eventually got phased out of the official canon.

But that don’t take away from how cool this ad is. It’s no wonder the line went on to be so huge with ads like this leading the way in the early days.

Mad Scientist Monster Lab Commercial from 1986

For this post, we're going to watch a commercial instead of looking at an ad.  The Mad Scientist Monster Lab from Mattel, Inc. in 1986, allowed users to “make disgusting, gross monsters…then sizzle the flesh off their bones!” The set included a plastic Monster Vat, plastic monster “Bones”, Green Monster Flesh, and Secret Froth formula for Dissolving Monsters.

It was a unique toy to be sure, but I can’t tell you just how unique. I got to be in its presence once at my grandmother’s house. Stevie the Tyrant was there and had brought the Monster Lab with him, but as usual, I wasn’t allowed to actually play with his toys, just watch him play with his toys.

But it did appear to be really cool to put the skeleton together, mix up the crap that would become the monster’s skin, and then dunk it in the shit that would make it fall off the bones.

Now with a toy like this, I can’t really blame Stevie the Tyrant for not letting me play with it. I mean, he only had so many packs of all the stuff it took to make this magic with, and letting me have a turn would have robbed him of a turn later on. It’s not like this was a G.I. Joe figure or something that he could get many more hours of play with later. The fun of this thing was kind of finite. But regardless, I still would have loved to try my hand with it.

Remco's Warlord Action Figures Comic Book Ad from 1984

 

While Remco never quite made it to the top of the heap of action figures, it certainly held its own due to its licensed properties. I myself enjoyed several of their lines, especially the old AWA wrestling figures.

I never got to own any of these Warlord figures, but I adore them just from the images I’ve seen online, and the story behind the line kinda tells itself. And for anyone who doesn’t get the story, the figures look generic enough to mix in with any number of other action figure toys.